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| # | cover | title | author | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages | avg rating | num ratings | date pub | date pub (ed.) | rating | my rating | review | notes | recommender | comments | votes | read count | date started | date read |
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date purchased | owned | purchase location | condition | format | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 078510786X
| 9780785107866
| 3.98
| 3,477
| 2001
| May 16, 2007
|
 Introduction: I have been growing up with “Spider-Man” ever since I was a child and so far, the only comic I had read from the “Spider-Man” series wa...more Introduction: I have been growing up with “Spider-Man” ever since I was a child and so far, the only comic I had read from the “Spider-Man” series was The Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin which I did enjoyed. Now, I had stumbled upon the Marvel Ultimate Universe and after I read Mark Millar’s run on “Ultimate X-Men” and kept hearing so many good things on this run, I decided to give Brian Michael Bendis’ run on “Ultimate Spider-Man” a chance. Now at first, I was a little hesitant to read this volume because since I had only read one comic from the original “Spider-Man” series, I felt that I need to be informed on how the origins of the original Spider-Man went before I actually read a remake on this series. However, after I read this volume, I was so happy and satisfied with the results, with or without the original origin stories! What is this story about? In this volume, Peter Parker was your average school nerd who is constantly picked on by the popular kids, including Flash Thompson and yet is best friends with Mary Jane. One day however, when the students ended up going on a school field trip to the Osborn Industries Inc., Peter ends up being bitten by a radioactive spider and he slowly starts to develop powers and a boost of confidence that he never had before. While Peter is enjoying his new powers, he will soon realize that Harry Osborn is up to no-good… What I loved about this story: Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Jemas’ writing: Now from my understanding of the “Ultimate Universe,” it is supposed to be a remake of the original Marvel Universe and after I immensely enjoyed Mark Millar’s revised stories of “Ultimate X-Men,” I started reading “Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility” and getting the same results! Brian Michael Bendis’ writing might feel a bit clunky at times, but I really loved the way that we are able to get inside Peter Parker’s head when he started experiencing the spider powers and how he tries to improve on his powers. I also liked the fact that Brian Michael Bendis kept some of the concepts from the original “Spider-Man” origin (Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider and his relationship with Uncle Ben and Aunt May), but is able to reinvent this origin into a more modern day setting, which I found pretty impressive! I also liked the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane as they just start out as friends in this version and I liked the banter between them as it was hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. I liked the way that Brian Michael Bendis made us really sympathize with Peter Parker as he is constantly being bullied, while at the same time is trying to find his place in the world, which really brought so much depth to this story. Mark Bagley’s artwork: Mark Bagley’s artwork is truly unique to me since the characters’ expressions and bodily structures are extremely different from any other artwork I have seen from other comic books. I loved the way that Mark Bagley made the characters glow on each page as it made the images so beautiful to look at and it really brought out the intensity of the situations. There were times however, where the characters’ teeth seem to show up too much on each panel and I was wondering to myself about why the characters are smiling so much, but it did not totally distract me from the story. What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The only problem with this comic is that there is some language and violence in this volume, although it is pretty toned down and it is not at all graphic or strong, so young teens should be able to handle this volume. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility” is a fantastic introductory volume for anyone who wants to read an alternative version of “Spider-Man!” I will admit that diving into the Ultimate universe of “Spider-Man” was really new and a bit weird for me, but this volume greatly set up the characters and you will definitely not be disappointed! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| not set
| May 03, 2013
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May 03, 2013
| Paperback
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| 0425266745
| 9780425266748
| 4.28
| 67,053
| Nov 06, 2012
| Nov 06, 2012
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 5.5 stars!!! “Love is not the absence of logic, But logic examined and recalculated, Heated and curved to fit, Inside the contours of the heart.” This...more 5.5 stars!!! “Love is not the absence of logic, But logic examined and recalculated, Heated and curved to fit, Inside the contours of the heart.” This, ladies and gentlemen, is a brilliant quote that came out of Tammara Webber’s fantastic contemporary romance novel, “Easy!” When I read so many good reviews about this novel, I just had to check this novel out for myself and see what the rave was all about! Well, imagine my pleasant surprise after I read this book as it was a truly beautiful experience for me and I just have to give out my thoughts on this wonderful novel! Jacqueline Wallace thought that she had the perfect life when she started dating her college sweetheart, Kennedy. Unfortunately, when Kennedy decided to break up with Jacqueline without giving a good reason, Jacqueline finds herself suffering from the break up and she believed that she will never find the perfect guy for her. To make matters worse, Jacqueline is nearly raped by one of the most popular guys in college, Buck, until a mysterious student named Lucas Maxfield manages to save her in the nick of time. Now that Jacqueline notices the mysterious yet hot Boy Scout Lucas, will she find a new and loving relationship with Lucas or will she still remain untrustworthy of ever having another relationship? Oh my goodness, I got to tell you that this book practically blew me away! I had read so many contemporary romance novels during my time, but I never would have thought that I would come across a romance novel that had so much grit and realism to the story that I was practically sitting on the edge of my seat trying to see what will become of the characters! Tammara Webber had done an excellent job at writing this story as the characters and the situations they get involved in are shown in a realistic and intense way and I often found myself getting immersed with how the characters handled these situations. Probably the best thing that I really enjoyed about this novel was the portrayal of the characters themselves! Jacqueline Wallace and Lucas Maxfield are probably my most favorite characters in this novel, along with Erin and Dr. Heller, as they were truly likable and easy to relate to and I loved their interactions with each other! Jacqueline Wallace is truly one heroine that I really sympathized with as she was involved in a dangerous situation and I truly understood her feelings of fear and regret after going through such a horrible experience. It was actually amazing seeing Jacqueline try to stand up for herself as she tries to find her independence after her breakup with Kennedy and her journey to recovery was just truly emotional and beautiful at the same time! Now, Lucas Maxfield is easily one of the greatest college heroes ever created as he would go out of his way to protect Jacqueline! I also loved the fact that Lucas enjoys drawing since that really brought out the artistic (and sexy) side of him and the scenes of Lucas sketching Jacqueline were full of hot and sizzling fun! Also, every time I keep hearing the description of Lucas having a muscular body with meaningful tattoos all over his body, my heart just melts with anticipation! I was amazed at how Tammara Webber tackled the issue of rape as Jacqueline was nearly raped and it was an emotional and heartbreaking ride for Jacqueline to get through. Tammara Webber really made the rape scenes so graphic and realistic that I found myself tensing up whenever these scenes popped up as going through this situation is extremely frightening for anyone. This novel contains extremely strong language including dropping the “f” bomb a dozen times and the “s” word. Anyone who does not like reading strong language might want to skim over these words as they are reading this book. Also, this novel deals with the subject of rape and that topic might be too uncomfortable for many people to handle, especially since it is written in an extremely realistic and graphic way. Overall, “Easy” is truly one novel that every romance reader has to check out and it is easily on my top romance novels lists as of now! This is definitely one novel that really defines the true meaning of love! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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1
| Apr 23, 2013
| May 02, 2013
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Apr 23, 2013
| Paperback
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| 140123206X
| 9781401232061
| 4.34
| 3,749
| 2010
| Nov 29, 2011
|
 6 stars! Introduction: Lately, I have been reading many “Batman” comics that came out during the 1980s and the 1990s, so that way I could be caught...more 6 stars! Introduction: Lately, I have been reading many “Batman” comics that came out during the 1980s and the 1990s, so that way I could be caught up with the “Batman” universe. But, after discovering some newer “Batman” comics, I wanted to try out some and one of the “Batman” stories that I had checked out was “Batman: The Black Mirror.” Now, after reading “Batman: Hush,” I said to myself that I wanted to read more “Batman” stories that featured Dick Grayson since I loved his character in “Batman: Hush.” Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered that “Batman: The Black Mirror” was actually Dick Grayson’s story! Well, what could I say? This was definitely one wallop of a story that would be hard to review because of so much going on in one graphic novel, but I will definitely do my best to express my intense love for this comic book! What is this story about? After the events of “Final Crisis,” Bruce Wayne, the real Batman, decided to create a superhero group that consists of other “Batmans” called “Batman Incorporated.” So, Dick Grayson is forced to take on the mantle as the new Batman for Gotham City, while working with Oracle (Barbara Gordon) and Red Robin (Tim Drake) on various crimes that plague the city. BUT THAT IS NOT THE STORY HERE! The actual story here is that Dick Grayson, now Batman, has uncovered a terrifying and strange case when he discovers that a nightmarish auction is being held where the criminals of Gotham City’s possessions are all being sold to the rich citizens of Gotham City. Little does Dick Grayson, know it seems to be a plot to trap Batman once and for all! Meanwhile, Commissioner Jim Gordon’s past catches up to him when his psychotic son, James Gordon Jr. comes to visit Gotham City and convinces his father and his step sister, Barbara Gordon, that he is a changed man and is trying to get back on the right path. But, has James Gordon Jr. really changed or is he up to no good? What I loved about this story: Scott Snyder’s writing: WOW! All I could say is…WOW! After reading Scott Snyder’s fantastic work on “American Vampire,” I just had to see how well Scott Snyder can write the famous dark knight! I was actually pleasantly surprised that Scott Snyder managed to write Dick Grayson extremely well as Dick Grayson might have some serious moments to his personality, but I loved the fact that Dick is much more laid-back than Bruce Wayne and that he is willing to help anyone in their time of need. It clearly shows when Dick Grayson dons the Batman costume as his personality is less menacing than Bruce Wayne’s and he makes a couple of jokes or two towards his enemies. I also loved the relationship shown between Commissioner Jim Gordon and Dick Grayson as Jim Gordon holds the same respect for Dick that he held for Bruce Wayne. But what really sold the story for me was the fact that it was focused on how the characters viewed Gotham City as being a place full of corruption and how it affected them. I really enjoyed the storyline with James Gordon Jr. as he is a new character that I had never read about before, but Scott Snyder did a brilliant job at making him extremely creepy as you do not really know his true motives and yet, he can act so innocent at the drop of a hat. If I were to list one of the creepiest characters to ever appear in a “Batman” comic, then James Gordon Jr. would definitely be on that list! I also loved the way that Scott Snyder provided an extremely dark and gritty atmosphere to this story as it may have snippets of “American Vampire” in it (well, it is written by Scott Snyder, who also written “American Vampire”), but it worked so well with the “Batman” universe and it just made the story even more interesting to read! Jock and Francesco Francavilla’s artwork: Both Jock and Francesco Francavilla’s artwork greatly contributed to the dark atmosphere of this story. Jock’s artwork during Dick Grayson’s storylines is extremely detailed and dramatic and also, the images of the monsters are extremely disturbing to look at which really made the story even more intense. Francesco Francavilla’s artwork in Commissioner Jim Gordon’s side of the story concerning his story are always shown in dark colorings and has a slight 80s artwork vibe which really brought a classic vibe to this story.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Out of all the “Batman” comics I had read so far, this is seriously one of the most disturbing stories I had ever read, next to Batman: The Killing Joke. Anyone who does not like reading about serial killers or disturbing psychological issues might be a bit disturbed with this story. Also, this story has many gory scenes of characters getting cut up and killed that some readers might find a bit uncomfortable to read through. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Batman: The Black Mirror” is easily one of the best current “Batman” stories around and anyone who is a huge fan of Dick Grayson will definitely love this comic! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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1
| not set
| Apr 05, 2013
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Apr 05, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0061996181
| 9780061996184
| 4.24
| 20,264
| Jan 17, 2012
| Jan 17, 2012
|
“Hold on to the ones you love because you never when they will be gone.”
After reading Cynthia Hand’s fantastic book Unearthly, I just had to pick up...more “Hold on to the ones you love because you never when they will be gone.” After reading Cynthia Hand’s fantastic book Unearthly, I just had to pick up the sequel to this book, “Hallowed” and oh man, was I blown away by this incredible story! In this novel, Clara Gardner will experience both joy and pain that she had never experience before as she has to make tough choices that will change her life forever! Well, she is part angel after all; how more complicated can her life be? After Clara Gardner, who happens to be part angel, confronted the forest fire that invaded her visions in the first book, she thought that everything would be fine now that she saved Tucker’s life and meets up with Christian. Unfortunately, Clara will soon realize that the forest fire was just the beginning of her problematic visions. Even though Clara is happily dating Tucker Avery and she is becoming fast friends with Angela Zerbino and Christian Prescott, she will soon realize that she would have to make tough choices in her life that could possibly put her happiness in jeopardy. Oh, and did I mention that someone Clara truly cares about will die and that Clara has to find some way to stop it from happening? Wow…I am just so awestruck by how emotional and exciting this book really was! Cynthia Hand’s writing is just as beautiful and heartwarming in this novel as it was in “Unearthly” and I often found myself really sympathizing with Clara’s predicament in either deciding to give up her purpose in order to have a happy life or give up the life she chooses to live in order to fulfill her purpose. I really loved the supernatural themes being explored in this story, especially about the fact that Clara and her family are angels and that they have to serve a purpose given to them during their lives. I also loved the way that Cynthia Hand weaved the angels’ purposes into the story by making the purposes collide with the characters’ personal lives and how the characters react to the purposes they must perform. This is especially prevalent with Clara Gardner as she is constantly shown trying to fight her purpose in order to have the happy life that she desires and yet, knows that deep down, she will have to follow her purpose at some point of her life. But probably the best part of this book was Clara’s relationship with Tucker Avery! I just loved Clara’s relationship with Tucker as she is almost always honest with him and it just made their relationship feel so real to me! Tucker Avery is definitely one awesome hero of this story as he is always understanding of Clara’s feelings and even though he knows that Clara’s an angel, he still loves her anyway. However, I also really loved Christian Prescott, as he gets more development in this book than in the first book as it shows that he cares about Clara, but respect her relationship with Tucker and would do anything to make her happy. I liked the way that Cynthia Hand handled the love triangle between Christian, Clara and Tucker as it was not shown in a negative way where only one of the love interests is shown to be good-natured while the other love interest is shown to be not worthy of the main character. To me, this love triangle was one of the few times I actually enjoyed a love triangle romance in a young adult novel since both Clara's love interests, Christian and Tucker, were extremely likable characters and I would not mind if Clara dated both of them (although I am more for Tucker any day)! I also loved the way that Cynthia Hand handled the sensitive subject matter about the death of a loved one as we see Clara trying to handle this situation with care and it was heartbreaking seeing Clara break down so much when her loved one is dying right before her eyes. I will not tell you who dies in this book, but let us just say that it is someone that we really care about. The only problem with this book is that there is some language sprinkled throughout this book, although the language here is not as bad as some other young adult books. Readers who do not like reading language in a book might want to skim over the language in this book. Overall, “Hallowed” is honestly a brilliant novel that any fan of Cynthia Hand’s works will thoroughly enjoy! Now, I am off to read the third book in this series, Boundless although I will probably have to check out Radiant first before I read the third book! ♥ ♥ ♥By the way… TEAM TUCKER ALL THE WAY!♥ ♥ ♥ Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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1
| Mar 30, 2013
| Apr 21, 2013
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Mar 30, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0785137688
| 9780785137689
| 4.05
| 57
| Apr 08, 2009
| May 13, 2009
|
 Introduction: When I heard so many good things about one of the most iconic “X-Men” stories, next to X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga and X-Men: Days of...more Introduction: When I heard so many good things about one of the most iconic “X-Men” stories, next to X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga and X-Men: Days of Future Past, “Proteus,” I just had to give this comic a shot! Now, I actually first heard about the Proteus storyline through the “X-Men” cartoon series that came out during the 1990s and ever since then, I was interested in seeing how this popular storyline unfolded in the “X-Men” universe and now, I finally got a chance to read it! What is this story about? In this story, after the X-Men’s intense battle with Magneto, each of the members believed that the other was dead. However, when Moira MacTaggert’s mutant son, Proteus, suddenly breaks out of his prison, the X-Men are reunited again and they have to fight this new menace that not only is out to get Moira MacTaggert’s estranged husband, Joe MacTaggert, but Moira herself! Can the X-Men defeat this new foe? What I loved about this story: Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s writing: As a long time “X-Men” fan, I was always interested in Chris Claremont’s writing during the early years of the X-Men and this comic was just as interesting as the stories “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past” were! I loved the way that Chris Claremont wrote Proteus as being a mysterious and frightening character that has a deep grudge against Moira MacTaggert and her estranged husband Joe MacTaggert as it made his character extremely interesting to read and I was actually scared of Proteus’ ability to warp reality to his will while possessing any body he comes across! I also loved seeing how the X-Men had to work together to defeat this foe while going through some personal issues to complete this job. One of the most memorable and intense scenes I had seen in this comic was when Proteus warps Wolverine’s mind and Wolverine ends up being terrified of Proteus. This moment stood out to me because Wolverine is usually shown as being a “tough as nails” character and to see a villain actually break down Wolverine emotionally was terrifying to see. I also liked the fact that this story was not as lengthy as Chris Claremont’s work in “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past” as we still get a really effective story while the story was extremely short enough to explain the characters’ personal feelings on this situation. I also loved seeing Havok, Polaris and Multiple Man (Jamie Madrox) appear in this story and actually help the X-Men out with Proteus, since John Byrne’s artwork: John Byrne’s artwork in this comic is truly beautiful and it really captures the spirit of all the characters. I especially loved the images of the X-Men themselves, especially of Jean Grey whenever she goes into Phoenix mode and you can see the powerful aura surround Jean Grey as it shows how powerful she is in her Phoenix form. I also loved the images of Proteus using his reality warping powers against the X-Men as the images look so surreal and distorted and it really gives off the creepy feel of Proteus’ powers.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Not much was really wrong this story, but anyone who does not like seeing surreal imagery used in a disturbing way might feel uncomfortable of the scenes where Proteus warps Wolverine and Nightcrawler’s minds. The imagery during these scenes is extremely distorted and that might frightened anyone who does not like surreal imagery. Final Thoughts: Overall, “X-Men: Proteus” is a truly fantastic story that all “X-Men” fans should check out! Also, in the edition I got, there are three extra stories in this volume that are just as interesting as the main story and they are called “Shreds of Humanity,” “So Good it Hurts,” written by Ann Nocenti along with artwork by John Bolton and “Outside In.” Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Mar 28, 2013
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Mar 28, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0785147179
| 9780785147176
| 3.90
| 313
| Nov 10, 2010
| Nov 10, 2010
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Introduction:
After reading the first two volumes of Jonathan Hickman’s highly acclaimed “Fantastic Four” series, I was a little skeptical about read...more Introduction: After reading the first two volumes of Jonathan Hickman’s highly acclaimed “Fantastic Four” series, I was a little skeptical about reading more from this series because: a) The stories in the first two volumes were confusing to me and I thought that I would never get into the stories no matter how many volumes I have read from this series. b) I did not quite enjoy the second volume as much as the first volume, so I was not sure if I was going to enjoy the direction this series was going. But, I went on to read the third volume of “Fantastic Four” and I actually enjoyed it way more than the second volume! It seems that the events that happened in the first two volumes are starting to come together and we will start seeing massive changes happening to the Fantastic Four! What is this story about? The story starts off with Reed Richards deciding to start a school for young gifted students called the Future Foundation while Susan Storm was off to the Four Cities acting as Earth’s diplomat. Meanwhile, Johnny Storm takes Franklin to the toy store only to run into an old enemy Arcade while at the same time, Valerie offers a cure to Ben for his rock form! While all of this is going on, Nathaniel Richards, Reed Richards’ father, time travels to Reed’s past in order to receive his help in defeating a mass murderer while also receiving help from none other than a younger version of Dr. Doom! What I loved about this story: Jonathan Hickman’s writing: Once again, Jonathan Hickman had done an excellent job at writing the relationships between the characters and trying to set up a much larger story in the future. I loved seeing the relationship between Johnny Storm and Franklin Richards as they have a love-hate relationship with each other and every time those two are involved in any kind of adventures, you can bet that the adventures will definitely be hilarious! Probably the story that really caught my interest was about Valerie possibly finding a cure for Ben Grimm as I rarely see a “Fantastic Four” story line where it focuses on Ben Grimm possibly being cured of his rock form and I really cannot wait to see where Jonathan Hickman is going to take this plot in the future volumes. I also loved the way that Jonathan Hickman portrayed Reed Richards’ character as Reed is shown being intelligent and doing everything in his power to save the world and I am loving the idea about Reed opening up a school for intelligent students, which I cannot wait to see whether or not the students will play a major role in the future “Fantastic Four” stories. Neil Edwards’ artwork: Even though I preferred Dale Eaglesham’s artwork from the previous “Fantastic Four” volumes, Neil Edwards had done a great job at detailing the characters’ facial expressions and I loved the shadowing on the characters’ faces whenever they have dark thoughts about the situations at hand. I also loved the images of the buildings as they look truly realistic and my favorite image of the buildings was when Spider-Man was briefly seen swinging on the buildings! What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: One of the main issues I was having with Jonathan Hickman’s run on “Fantastic Four” was that every time I read a volume from this series, there is just too much going on and I get way too confused with what is going on in the story. I would have preferred it if the volume focused on one storyline and then wrap that singular story arc into the next volume so that way each volume would make much more sense. Also, the reason why I gave this volume a four star rating was because there are many slow scenes that I slightly bored me and I was waiting to see some kind of action happen to the characters. Also, there is some violence and language in this volume, although it is not as bad as something you would read out of any Vertigo or Image comic book. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Fantastic Four Volume Three” is a step up from the previous volume as everything is starting to come into place and I cannot wait to see how things will unfold in the future volumes! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| not set
| Mar 28, 2013
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Mar 28, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1607063980
| 9781607063988
| 4.18
| 1,414
| Aug 02, 2011
| Oct 04, 2011
|
Introduction:
Seriously, will I ever put this series down? Every time I pick up a volume from John Layman’s Eisner Award and Harvey Award winning ser...more Introduction: Seriously, will I ever put this series down? Every time I pick up a volume from John Layman’s Eisner Award and Harvey Award winning series “Chew,” things just keeps getting crazier and more interesting than ever before! In this volume, “Chew: Flambé,” things get even more crazy for Tony Chu and John Colby as there is a panic going on in the United States when strange alien letterings suddenly show up in the sky! What is this story about? In this volume, after a mysterious alien language suddenly pops up in the sky, everyone starts panicking and believes that an alien invasion is about to come to Earth! So, it is up to the FDA agents Tony Chu and John Colby to find out about this supposed alien conspiracy and what will it mean for Earth? What I loved about this story: John Layman’s writing: For the past three volumes, I have always said that John Layman’s writing on the “Chew” series has been nothing but fantastic! Well, in this volume, John Layman really brought out true surreal humor as Tony Chu and John Colby get into even more crazy adventures than usual! I loved the way that John Layman made things even more interesting with the mystery surrounding the strange alien language suddenly appearing in the sky and it was great seeing the build up towards solving the mystery of the alien language and what it would mean for Earth. John Layman’s humorous writing is just as top notch in this volume as it was in the previous three volumes and I really love the moments shared between Tony and his twin sister Antonelle “Toni” Chu as Toni is like the annoying younger sibling towards Tony and I love how she truly cares about him despite annoying him at every chance. I also love the character “Poyo,” the rooster who for some strange reason is able to do some kung-fu fighting (do not worry; you will see its moves in this volume)! It was also interesting seeing Tony’s daughter (yes, Tony actually has a daughter) Olive Chu as she seems to have resentment towards Tony and it would be interesting to see in future volumes whether or not her relationship with Tony will improve or not. Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork is as usual, extremely hilarious and detailed at the same time as it brought in so much humor and tension to the story. I loved the way that the characters look bizarre as their bodies are done in exaggerated proportions, making the artwork truly creative to look at. I also loved the way that Rob Guillory drew the gory scenes during the crime scenes, even though the blood splattering scenes might be a bit too exaggerated, but it just made those situations more humorous to look at than making you cringe in disgust (which I never thought would be possible)! What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: For anyone who does not like gory scenes and strong language, this volume definitely has plenty of strong violence and language. There are many instances where the characters drop the “s” and “f” bombs throughout the stories and that might offend anyone who does not like reading such strong language in a graphic novel. Also, there are many violent scenes of characters getting shot and cut up and blood splattering everywhere and that might make anyone uncomfortable if they are not used to gory scenes. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Chew: Flambe” is really setting things up and I definitely cannot wait to see what this mysterious alien language in the sky is going to do to the characters in the future. I would definitely recommend this volume to any fan of John Layman’s “Chew” series and also check out the other volumes that came before this one: Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice Chew, Vol. 2: International Flavor Chew, Vol. 3: Just Desserts Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Mar 28, 2013
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Mar 28, 2013
| Paperback
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| 0525478817
| 9780525478812
| 4.52
| 225,785
| 2012
| Jan 10, 2012
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 REAL, EMOTIONAL, HEARTBREAKING, FUNNY AND INSIGHTFUL These are the words that perfectly describe one of the most emotional and insightful books I had...more REAL, EMOTIONAL, HEARTBREAKING, FUNNY AND INSIGHTFUL These are the words that perfectly describe one of the most emotional and insightful books I had ever read, “The Fault in Our Stars.” “The Fault in Our Stars” is a beautiful book that is written by John Green, who also wrote Looking for Alaska and I have the pleasure to experience the raw emotion being put into this novel and enjoying every single minute of it! Hazel Grace Lancaster was a young sixteen year old teenage girl who had suffered thyroid cancer at the age of fourteen and when she thought that she was going to die, the doctors managed to give her a medical miracle that would help shrink her tumor. Even though Hazel managed to survive, she was forced to be hooked up to an oxygen tank to enable her breathing. Since that day, Hazel thought that she will never live life the same way again, but then Hazel ends up meeting a gorgeous teenage boy named Augustus Waters, who also happens to suffer cancer, which caused him to lose one of his legs. Hazel and Augustus (Gus) immediately start connecting with each other and the two friends soon realize the importance of following their dreams and understanding life and death. After I heard so much praise for this book and my reading friends urged me to give this book a shot, I just had to pick this book up and man, was I blown away by the emotional intensity that this book brought out in the open! Even though John Green had written several books before this novel, one of the most notable novels being “Looking for Alaska,” “The Fault in Our Stars” was actually the first book I had read from John Green and I enjoyed it immensely! John Green had done a brilliant job at writing a story about how a cancer patient views life after she went through a life threatening situation at a young age. It was fantastic hearing the story from Hazel’s point of view as I loved the way that she details her struggles with coping with her cancer while trying to live her life the best way she can. But, what I really loved about Hazel is that she never let her cancer take control of her life as she is shown to be a sarcastic and easygoing person who tries to understand about life while pursuing her dreams at the same time. Augustus Waters is easily my most favorite character in this novel as he is just as sarcastic as Hazel, but he shows so much intellect about life that I really enjoyed his personal thoughts. I also loved the fact that Augustus truly cares for Hazel and was willing to help her accomplish her dreams while having his own inspirations in life. The banter between Hazel and Augustus is so hilarious and heartwarming at the same time as they discuss the importance of life while joking about their illnesses (although I can see the idea about characters joking about their illnesses being a little uncomfortable for anyone who is actually going through cancer). Since this book deals with a sensitive subject matter, some readers might literally CRY when reading this book (I know that I definitely started crying at the end of this book). Anyone who does not like reading books about characters dealing with cancer might want to handle this book with care. Also, this book has some strong language, so anyone who does not like reading strong language might want to skim over the language. Overall, “The Fault in Our Stars” is easily one of the most thought-provoking and emotional books I had ever read. This was basically the first book I had read about characters experiencing cancer first hand and I was so emotionally invested in both the story and the characters, that I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone who is a huge fan of John Green’s works. BE FOREWARNED, THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU CRY HUGE BUCKETS OF TEARS! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog I would like to thank my Goodreads friend Pimmy♥S for recommending me this book! (less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| May 03, 2013
| May 13, 2013
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Mar 26, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 1401221238
| 9781401221232
| 3.96
| 2,585
| Jan 01, 2009
| Apr 07, 2009
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 4.5 stars Introduction: After reading “Batman: Hush,” I really got interested in Hush’s character and where he came from since we only saw half of hi...more 4.5 stars Introduction: After reading “Batman: Hush,” I really got interested in Hush’s character and where he came from since we only saw half of his story in the original story. But thankfully, some of my reading friends managed to recommend me a story that continues the storyline from “Batman: Hush” and it is called “Batman: Heart of Hush!” With great writing from Paul Dini, who also wrote some of the episodes from “Batman: the Animated Series,” “Batman: Heart of Hush” is definitely one comic you have to check out! What is this story about? Hush, also known as Tommy Elliot, is back with a vengeance and he is planning on making Batman suffer more than ever before! After using the same tactics which involves trying to break Batman’s spirit by using his greatest foes to fight him, Hush manages to accomplish his ultimate goal in breaking Batman and that is kidnapping Catwoman! Can Batman save Catwoman from Hush before it is too late? What I loved about this story: Paul Dini’s writing: After seeing that Paul Dini had written stories for the “Batman” franchise before, which was writing some of the episodes in “Batman: The Animated Series,” the animated series that basically introduced me to the world of “Batman,” I was pleasantly surprised to see that Paul Dini had also written some stories for the “Batman” comics. “Batman: Heart of Hush” was basically the first “Batman” comic book story I had read from Paul Dini and it really started hooking me to his work! Paul Dini had done a great job at providing a more detailed back story on Tommy Elliot in this graphic novel since in Jeph Loeb’s story of “Batman: Hush,” he was shown to be Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend, but that was basically all we got from his character. In this graphic novel however, we get to see how Tommy’s childhood had affected him as a character and how he started leading his life as the notorious villain Hush. Paul Dini also did a fantastic job at making Hush into a calculating villain who knows Batman’s weaknesses and uses it against him, as it truly makes Hush into one of Batman’s most dangerous villains since the Joker! The creepy atmosphere that Paul Dini provided for this story was portrayed greatly as we can feel tension whenever Hush is introduced into the story and the mystery that surrounds the characters and Hush’s plan truly made this story interesting to read through! Dustin Nguyen’s artwork: Dustin Nguyen’s artwork may not be as memorable as Jim Lee’s artwork in “Batman: Hush,” but the artwork is still detailed and brilliantly captures the darkness of the story. I loved the way that Dustin Nguyen’s artwork has dark colorings covering the city of Gotham as it really brings in the darkness of the city and it sets up a creepy atmosphere for the story. I also loved the way that Dustin Nguyen drew the facial expressions on the characters as they look truly realistic, especially whenever the characters look shocked or angry.  What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: One of my biggest issues with this graphic novel was that I felt that the story was a bit too short and that many characters other than Tommy Elliot were not quite fleshed out like in “Batman: Hush.” I understand that this is Tommy Elliot’s story, but I wanted to see more of Nightwing and Catwoman like I did in “Batman: Hush” and have the story expand more on their perspectives on Hush and how Hush affected them as characters. I also wanted to see more romantic moments between Catwoman and Batman since it would have brought more depth to Batman’s determination to rescue Catwoman. Also, even though I usually do not let the artwork affect my reading of comics at times, I felt that the artwork in this comic was not as memorable as Jim Lee’s artwork and that the characters do not look as attractive as they did in “Batman: Hush.” Final Thoughts: Overall, even though I had some problems with “Batman: Heart of Hush” and I still consider “Batman: Hush” to be a better story, it was still a truly interesting read and a great follow up to “Batman: Hush” and “Batman” fans will definitely enjoy this book! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog I would like to thank my Goodreads friend Brandon for recommending me this book!(less) | Notes are private!
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| not set
| Apr 19, 2013
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Mar 20, 2013
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1401200923
| 9781401200923
| 4.16
| 5,522
| Jan 01, 2004
| Nov 01, 2004
|
5.5 stars!
Introduction: After reading the first volume of the well-acclaimed “Batman” story, “Batman: Hush,” I just had to check out the second volu...more 5.5 stars! Introduction: After reading the first volume of the well-acclaimed “Batman” story, “Batman: Hush,” I just had to check out the second volume that would conclude this fantastic storyline! Now, that I had just finished reading “Batman: Hush Volume Two,” I can clearly say that this storyline definitely rates along my most favorite “Batman” storylines next to “Batman: The Killing Joke” and “Batman: The Long Halloween!” What is this story about? Continuing from the last volume, the story begins when Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are attacked by Harley Quinn at the opera! Harley Quinn’s attack was not just coincidence as she is then connected to the Joker, who happens to have shot a close friend of Batman’s, who then leads to the Riddler planning a bank robbery and the story goes on until it reaches its shocking conclusion! What I loved about this story: Jeph Loeb’s writing: Oh my goodness! Can I just say that this volume had really put me at the edge of my seat? Yes I can, as Jeph Loeb has once again written a truly amazing mystery story that not only introduced Batman’s greatest foes (Killer Croc, the Riddler, the Joker, Harley Quinn, the Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul and Two-Face) all into one story, but managed to get all of the characters wrapped up into one shocking and twisted scheme that was cleverly thought up by a truly evil mastermind! I really enjoyed the way that Jeph Loeb weaved all the characters’ storylines into one story and it was exciting seeing how Batman would solve the case about who is behind his foes’ activities and who caused the death of one of his most beloved friends. I also loved seeing the developing relationship between Catwoman and Batman as Jeph Loeb truly showed Batman struggling with trying to trust Catwoman and how Batman has to learn to start trusting people despite what happened to his parents when he was a child. I especially loved seeing the appearances of Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Tim Drake (the new Robin) as they were truly fantastic characters and this was basically the first “Batman” comic I had read that featured both Dick Grayson as Nightwing and Tim Drake as the new Robin! I loved Nightwing the best as he has a bright and hilarious personality and is usually there to comfort Batman whenever he was at his most vulnerable. Jim Lee’s artwork: Jim Lee’s artwork once again was just as beautiful as it was in the first volume! I just loved the way that Jim Lee illustrated the lightning sequences in this volume as the lightning looks truly realistic and it really captured the intense mood of the scenes where Batman is fighting during the nighttime. Probably my most favorite images in this volume was of the fight scenes between the Joker and Batman as the panels suddenly go red as we see Batman beating up the Joker brutally and it really shows how intense this scene really was.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: For anyone who does not like hearing language in comic books, this volume does have a bit of language, even though it is not as strong as something you would read out of a Vertigo comic. Also, there is some violence in this volume, especially with characters getting shot and blood spurting out of the wounds. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Batman: Hush Volume Two” was just as good as the first volume and this storyline definitely deserved to be regarded as one of the best “Batman” stories ever as the mystery and the drama was so well built up! This volume has also gotten me interested in Dick Grayson as Nightwing and I am open to any recommendations about some good titles starring Dick Grayson as Nightwing! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| not set
| Mar 16, 2013
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Mar 16, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 1401200605
| 9781401200602
| 4.03
| 5,345
| Jan 01, 2003
| Aug 01, 2004
|
 Introduction: I have been reading many “Batman” comics for awhile now and after searching for some really good “Batman” stories that were recommended...more Introduction: I have been reading many “Batman” comics for awhile now and after searching for some really good “Batman” stories that were recommended to me by other fellow comic book readers, I keep hearing good things about “Batman: Hush” and I finally picked it up! “Batman: Hush Volume One” is apart of an alternative universe in DC Comics called “Elsewhere,” like where “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” also came from and I have to admit, I really enjoyed this volume! What is this story about? The story starts off with Batman trying to rescue a young heir to the Lamont chemical fortune named Edward Lamont IV from Killer Croc and after Batman rescues the young heir, he discovers that Killer Croc was trying to steal a case of money, which was stolen in the middle of the fight. Batman then realizes that Catwoman stole the money, but is not sure why she stole the money and it is revealed that Poison Ivy might be the ringleader in this entire scheme. Or is she? Also, Batman makes a trip to Metropolis to learn more about Poison Ivy’s whereabouts and guess who he runs into? What I loved about this story: Jeph Loeb’s writing: Wow! Jeph Loeb’s writing for the “Batman” series just continues to amaze me as the stories are fantastic and the characters are extremely well-written! This volume definitely does not disappoint me as the story and the characters were extremely interesting to me. I especially loved the way that Jeph Loeb portrayed Catwoman and Batman’s relationship with each other as their relationship felt a bit awkward, but in a good way as the sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman was interesting and clever at the same time. It was interesting seeing Batman having trouble with sorting out his feelings for Catwoman since we normally do not see Batman react so strongly to a situation he does not understand. I also loved the way that Jeph Loeb builds up the plot surrounding the mystery of the stolen money and how Poison Ivy is tied into this whole situation. I was practically trying to figure out the mystery of this criminal plan throughout the entire volume as it was cleverly woven into the lives all of the characters involved especially Batman, Catwoman and Poison Ivy. The storyline was clearly intense and dramatic and I was practically sitting in the edge of my seat trying to see the true motive of Poison Ivy’s plans and how it would affect Batman. Jim Lee’s artwork: After seeing Jim Lee’s artwork in the “X-Men” comics, I was interested in seeing more of his work! Well, Jim Lee’s artwork in this volume was absolutely brilliant as the characters look truly realistic and the colorings really brought out the surroundings. I loved the dark colorings done on Gotham City as it really sets the dark mood for the story. I also loved the image of Killer Croc himself as he truly looked monstrous and I loved his green scaly skin as looks truly frightening.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The only problem with this volume is that there is some language and violence that might make readers who are not used to violence and language in books uncomfortable. The language is not as strong here as it would be in other comic books and the violence is probably more problematic as there are scenes of characters being punched and having blood spilling from them. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Batman: Hush Volume One” is a truly fantastic series so far and I cannot wait to see how Batman will uncover this huge mystery in the next volume! “Batman” fans will definitely be impressed with series for many years to come! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| not set
| Mar 16, 2013
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Mar 16, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 1607063352
| 9781607063353
| 4.23
| 3,135
| Oct 14, 2010
| Dec 07, 2010
|
 Introduction: After reading the first two volumes of John Layman’s “Chew” series, my interest in this series just keeps rising every time I picked up...more Introduction: After reading the first two volumes of John Layman’s “Chew” series, my interest in this series just keeps rising every time I picked up a new volume! Now, I had finally read the third volume of the “Chew” series called “Chew: Just Desserts Volume Three” and this volume was just as good as the previous two volumes! Being an Eisner Award and Harvey Award winning series, “Chew” so far has definitely deserved the praise it has received over the years! What is this story about? In this volume, things are looking good for Tony Chu! For one thing, he has a new girlfriend in Amelia Mintz, his boss is actually being nice to him and he has the best partner anyone could ever ask for in John Colby! But, when Tony Chu realizes that his ex-partner Mason Savoy is out and up to no good, Tony must choose between being with Amelia and focusing on his job. What I loved about this story: John Layman’s writing: As usual, John Layman has done a brilliant job at writing this volume! The characters were truly interesting to me, especially Tony Chu and John Colby. I really loved the way that John Layman portrayed the relationship between Tony and John as they have great chemistry with each other (I really enjoyed their playful bickering which was extremely hilarious to see)! The fact that both Tony and John are willing to protect each other in times of danger was fantastic to see and I would definitely love to see more of their friendship in the future volumes. I also loved the way that John Layman portrayed Tony and Amelia’s relationship with each other as they truly are a cute couple and I liked the fact that their relationship is more in the progressive stage rather than they are the perfect soul mates because it made their relationship much more believable to look at. Not only does Tony and Amelia have similar powers which is what brought them together in the first place, but it was great seeing how Tony’s job could affect his relationship with Amelia since he is always going to his job and I was always hoping that Tony and Amelia could work through this problem in order to have a more stable relationship with each other. I really enjoyed the way that John Layman balanced the humor and the horror in this story as both genres fitted in so well together and was able to create one interesting storyline! Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork as usual was humorous and interesting to look at as it set a more comical and intense mood for the story. I loved the way that Rob Guillory made the characters look so exaggerated, despite this being a crime series as it really brought in some humor to the story. I also loved the characters’ shocked expressions whenever something horrific or weird happens to them as it made them truly believable.  What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Just like the first two volumes, there is some strong language and gory violence involved in the story and anyone who does not like reading about gore and strong language might be a bit offended by this volume. There are many scenes of characters being shot and blood gushing out in an exaggerated fashion and also there is some strong usage of curse words such as using the “f” word a dozen times. Readers who are offended by these aspects might want to skim over these scenes when reading this volume. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Chew: Just Desserts” is a fantastic volume for fans of the “Chew” series and anyone who loves reading about comical crime drama! I am definitely going to check out the next volume in this series soon! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| not set
| Mar 16, 2013
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Mar 16, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 1607062607
| 9781607062608
| 4.19
| 4,579
| Apr 14, 2010
| Jun 22, 2010
|
 Introduction: After reading the first volume of this fantastic series “Chew: Taster’s Choice,” I was geared up to read the second volume “Chew: Inter...more Introduction: After reading the first volume of this fantastic series “Chew: Taster’s Choice,” I was geared up to read the second volume “Chew: International Flavor!” “Chew: International Flavor” is just as interesting and creative as the first volume and being that John Layman’s “Chew” series is an Eisner Award Winning and Harvey Award Winning series, this volume is definitely something that any comic book fan should check out! What is this story about? In this volume, Tony Chu is back and this time he is working with his old partner John Colby (you know, the guy who had his face cut off in the first volume and now, half of his face is robotic)? Anyway, Tony and John stumble upon a case on the mysterious island Yamapalu and not only does Tony meet a tough female spy named Lin Sae Woo, but he also notices that many of the people who were killed on the island have mysterious bite marks on their necks… Vampires do not exist, do they? What I loved about this story: John Layman’s writing: Just like the first volume, John Layman’s writing is just as good in this volume as it was in the first volume! I loved the way that John Layman characterized each character as all the characters in this volume were written in an exciting and intense way! I really enjoyed the character Tony Chu as he is shown to be a strong and sarcastic character that has already come to terms with his special powers and I loved the scenes where he gets angry at people who make him use his powers for idiotic reasons. I also loved John Colby as he was also just as sarcastic as Tony and yet, he remains to be a great friend to Tony, even standing up for him against his boss. John Layman did a brilliant job at balancing both the humor and the horror in this volume as I found myself laughing at all of Tony’s misfortunes on his adventures. I also loved the little “vampire” twist on this story since at first, I was rolling my eyes at the idea that they would introduce a concept that was used over a MILLION times in other stories, but in this volume, it was actually used in an extremely creative way and I hope to read more about the “vampire” situation in the next volume! Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork as usual is both hilarious and somewhat disgusting in an extremely good way! Even though this volume is not as disgusting as the first volume, the artwork of the characters discovering murdered bodies is truly effective as you can see the blood spilling out of the victims, which gives the artwork a truly chilling feel. I also loved the way that Rob Guillory made the characters look cartoonish in nature and yet, there is still some intensity to the artwork.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The only problems in this volume involve many scenes of characters getting murdered and some strong language. Even though this volume is not as disgusting as the first volume, there is still a bit of gross humor such as Tony coming across a large pile of poop in his first case that might make any reader feel a bit ill. Also, there is some strong language in this volume, such as the continuous use of the “s” word and anyone who is offended by such words might want to skim over them. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Chew: International Flavors” is a fantastic follow up to John Layman’s “Chew” series and I am definitely looking forward to reading more from the “Chew” series and seeing what kind of wacky and intensifying crimes that our favorite characters will get into next! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog Also, check out my review on the first volume Taster's Choice! (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| not set
| Mar 08, 2013
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Mar 08, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 140120113X
| 9781401201135
| 4.29
| 12,142
| 2003
| Sep 01, 2004
|
4.5 stars!
After reading almost all of Neil Gaiman’s fantastic run on the “Sandman” series (to the point where I called the year 2012 “The Year of the...more 4.5 stars! After reading almost all of Neil Gaiman’s fantastic run on the “Sandman” series (to the point where I called the year 2012 “The Year of the Sandman” since I had spent the year reading the Sandman comics), I wanted to read Neil Gaiman’s latest story on the “Sandman” series, “The Sandman: Endless Nights,” even though The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake was actually considered the final story arc in the “Sandman” series. “The Sandman: Endless Nights,” which is also a Bram Stoker Award winner and a Locus Award winner, is a fantastic series for any newcomer who wants to learn more about the Endless characters! This volume is basically detailing seven chapters that deal with the seven siblings of the Endless and how they meet up with several unsuspecting characters in their stories. The chapters are as follow: Chapter 1: Death: Death and Venice – artwork by P. Craig Russell  Chapter 2: Desire: What I’ve Tasted of Desire – artwork by Milo Manara  Chapter 3: Dream: The Heart of a Star – artwork by Miguelanxo Prado  Chapter 4: Despair: Fifteen Portraits of Despair – artwork by Barron Storey with designs by Dave McKean Chapter 5: Delirium: Going Inside – artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz  Chapter 6: Destruction: On the Peninsula – artwork by Glenn Fabry  Chapter 7: Destiny: Endless Nights – artwork by Frank Quitely For the past few volumes of the “Sandman” series, we were able to really get deep into the dark and mysterious world of Morpheus, better known as Dream of the Endless. Now, we finally have a volume that is dedicated to all of the siblings from the Endless, most notably Death, Dream’s older sister, Delirium, the youngest sister and Destruction, the brother who left the Endless family over four hundred years ago. Neil Gaiman has done a brilliant job at writing this volume as we actually get a closer look at not just Dream, but his siblings and I loved the way that Neil Gaiman explored each Endless character in deep detail. Probably my favorite stories in this volume were “Death and Venice,” “What I’ve Tasted of Desire,” “The Heart of a Star,” and “On the Peninsula” as these stories had the most interesting storylines and really delved into the minds of the characters being presented. Neil Gaiman’s introduction in this volume was probably the best introduction I had read out of any graphic novel (although, I do not normally read the introductions in graphic novels since I easily get bored reading them). Neil Gaiman clearly explains to the readers about why he wrote this volume after his nine year run on the “Sandman” series and it was interesting that Neil Gaiman wanted to do this volume because he wanted to work with different artists while still telling more stories about the Endless. The artwork in this volume, as with the previous volumes, are extremely well done as there are many different artists working on this volume and they include Glenn Fabry, Milo Manara, Miguelanxo Prado, Frank Quitely, P. Craig Russell, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Barron Storey. Probably my favorite artworks in this volume were done by P. Craig Russell, Milo Manara and Glenn Fabry. P. Craig Russell’s artwork in “Death and Venice” was extremely well done as the characters look slightly cartoonish, but still have a realistic touch to the characters’ appearances and I loved the way that the colors are done brightly which makes the artwork pleasing to see. Milo Manara’s artwork in “What I’ve Tasted of Desire” has a brilliant Renaissance Era vibe as the characters are realistic looking and the paintings flow well with the artwork. Glenn Fabry’s artwork in “On the Peninsula” is truly beautiful as the characters have realistic facial expressions and the environment of the peninsula is amazing to look at. The reason why I took off half a star is because some of the stories were a bit confusing to read through. Probably the stories I had the most problems reading through were Delirium’s story “Going Inside” and Despair’s story “Fifteen Portraits of Despair” as the narratives were too complicated to understand since it seems like the stories were being told from a point of view of a crazed mind (although Delirium’s story makes so much sense based on her character). Also, for anyone who does not like violence and language, this volume does have some gory violence and strong language, although the violence is not as strong in this volume as it was in previous volumes. Overall, “The Sandman: Endless Nights” is a fantastic book for fans of the “Sandman” series! Even though The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake is often considered the final volume in the “Sandman” series, this volume is sometimes considered the final volume of the “Sandman” series, even though any new reader to the “Sandman” series can read this to gain a better understanding of the “Sandman” characters as a whole. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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| not set
| Mar 08, 2013
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Mar 08, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 1421511304
| 9781421511306
| 4.26
| 6,544
| Dec 05, 2005
| May 01, 2007
|
Usually, I have a tough time reviewing manga because the stories are pretty consistent throughout their runs and sometimes it is hard to review a sing...more
Usually, I have a tough time reviewing manga because the stories are pretty consistent throughout their runs and sometimes it is hard to review a single volume without at least dredging up the storylines from the last volume. But, review I shall since I have so much to say about the second volume of Matsuri Hino’s popular series, “Vampire Knight!” In this volume, Yuki Cross, one of the guardians of Cross Academy, realizes that her partner, Zero Kiryu is having trouble coping with being a vampire after a terrible incident where a vampire killed his family years ago. Not only that, but when Yuki goes outside of school grounds one night, she is suddenly attacked by a vampire and since she injured herself early on, she could not defend herself against the vampire! However, two students from the Night Class (who are also vampires) ended up saving Yuki from the attack. When Yuki asks the two night class students (who turns out to be Takuma Ichijo and Senri Shiki) why they rescued her, they ended up telling her that once she comes to the Moon Dormitory at midnight, all will be explained. Now, it has been awhile since I had read the first volume of Matsuri Hino’s “Vampire Knight” series and my memory is a bit rusty about what this series is all about. So, let me just recap a bit about what the overall gist of the series is: *Cross Academy is a school that is attended by two groups of students. One group of students is called the Day Class where normal human beings attend during the day and the other group of students is called the Night Class, where only the vampire students attend. *Basically, the goal of Cross Academy is to have humans and vampires live together in peace and harmony. *Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the guardians of Cross Academy as they make sure that the Day Class students do not associate with the Night Class in order to protect them from the vampires. Now that I recapped the idea about this series, I now would like to give out my opinion on this volume! Matsuri Hino has done a brilliant job at writing and illustrating this novel as the characters are all extremely memorable and the artwork is gorgeous to look at. I loved the way that Matsuri Hino really portrayed both Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu as they truly stood out so much in this novel. It was really intense in seeing Zero Kiryu coming to terms with being a vampire and how he is constantly suffering throughout this volume because he does not want to give in to the allure of sucking blood from human beings. Yuki Cross was a truly amazing character in this volume as she was the one who tried to help Zero Kiryu through his ordeal and I loved the fact that Yuki is so kind towards Zero, despite knowing that he is a vampire. I also loved the humor in this novel and despite the fact that this series is about VAMPIRES; there are many hilarious moments between the characters especially during the scene where Yuki and Zero go shopping! Matsuri Hino’s artwork is truly gorgeous to look at as the characters’ hairstyles are creative and just looks so smooth. I also loved the way that Matsuri Hino put some shadowing on some panels where the characters have intense looks on their faces as it really brings in a somber mood to the scene. There are some bloody scenes in this novel, especially with some of the vampire characters sucking blood out of some miscellaneous characters and that can be a bit disturbing to anyone who does not like seeing blood in a manga. Also, this was something that bothered me a bit personally, but the fact that Zero Kiryu spends almost the majority of the volume brooding about being a vampire and trying to resist his urges of draining blood from humans got a bit tiresome for me. I understand that what we are seeing is Zero struggling with his inner demons, but I would like to see Zero actually trying to overcome this ordeal and try to move on with his life despite being a vampire. Overall, “Vampire Knight: Volume Two” is a great volume for anyone who is a huge fan of Matsuri Hino’s “Vampire Knight” series and is definitely worth checking out! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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1
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| Mar 08, 2013
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Mar 08, 2013
| Paperback
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| 3.98
| 2,836
| Apr 03, 2012
| Apr 03, 2012
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After reading the previous “Highland Pleasures” books “The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie,” “Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage” and “The Many Sins of...more
After reading the previous “Highland Pleasures” books “The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie,” “Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage” and “The Many Sins of Lord Cameron,” I was excited to see that Jennifer Ashley had a new book from the “Highland Pleasures” series called “The Duke’s Perfect Wife,” staring Hart Mackenzie and I admit, this book took me quite by surprise! Lady Eleanor Ramsay was once engaged to the Scottish Duke, Hart Mackenzie and was madly in love with him. Unfortunately, Eleanor broke off her engagement to Hart Mackenzie after the two of them had a fight and it has been years since she had ever spoken to Hart. One day however, Eleanor mysteriously receives photographs of Hart posing nude and she decides to go to Hart’s home to help him find the person who has been sending her the mysterious photographs. But, will she restore her love with Hart and maybe help Hart find himself once again? As always, Jennifer Ashley has done a great job at telling a truly interesting love story that not only has memorable characters, but mystery and drama to go right along with it! I loved the way that Jennifer Ashley weaved a mystery plot to the story as I was seriously on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who sent Eleanor the nude photographs of Hart and what the ulterior motive was behind this act was. But, as always, what I loved the most about this novel (as with Jennifer Ashley’s other romance novels) were of the characters themselves. Eleanor Ramsay was a truly unique kind of heroine as she might talk a lot, especially whenever she is nervous, but it is that aspect of her character that really made her shine throughout this book! I also loved the fact that Eleanor is an extremely kind hearted person who is willing to put everyone else’s needs before her own and it was fantastic seeing her help Hart discover more about life besides his political career. As for, Hart Mackenzie, he was truly a fantastic hero as he is much nicer and gentle than he really lets on and I enjoy the scenes where he tries to repair his broken relationship with Eleanor while at the same time, trying to discover that there is more to life than just controlling it for his political ideals. As for Hart’s magnificent body, if you have not seen the cover of this book, then you will know that he is seriously one well built hero as he is constantly being described as having a muscular body that just made me gush over every time I read about it!  While Hart and Eleanor were my favorite couple in this book, the character that really stood out in this book was Ian Mackenzie himself! I loved the fact that Ian was actually trying to help Hart and Eleanor get back together again and I loved the fact that he was being a good friend towards Eleanor throughout this book. Also, the romantic scenes between Hart and Eleanor were hot and sizzling as Hart may have a difficult time confessing his dark secrets towards Eleanor, but he certainly knows how to romance Eleanor in many different ways! For anyone who does not like reading sex scenes in any novel, this novel has many sex scenes that are explicit, so it might be best to skim over these scenes. Also, the reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because I often got a little frustrated with the characters. For one thing, I was practically screaming towards Hart to just let Eleanor discover the real him and stop keeping so many secrets from her. I understand that Hart was having a hard time trying to vent out his feelings for Eleanor and to not let her know about his dark past, but I just wished that he made his feelings known early on in the book and actually trusted Eleanor with some of his secrets. Also, the main problem I have with romance novels where the plot is focused on the couple trying to get back together after they had broken up is that you can not really experience the new and raw feelings of a blossoming romance since that couple’s romance was started early on and sometimes it was hard for me to really get into Hart and Eleanor’s relationship with each other because they already had a relationship with each other before they tried to get back together again. Overall, “The Duke’s Perfect Wife” is a great story about Hart and Eleanor and I seriously cannot wait to see more from the “Highland Pleasure” series, especially the next book in the series, “The Seduction of Elliot McBride!” Here are my favorite “Highland Pleasures” starting with my favorite: 1. The Many Sins of Lord Cameron 2. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie 3. Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage 4. The Duke's Perfect Wife Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Feb 28, 2013
| Mar 29, 2013
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Feb 28, 2013
| Mass Market Paperback
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| 1607061597
| 9781607061595
| 4.07
| 7,663
| Dec 09, 2009
| Nov 01, 2009
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 6 stars! Introduction: Alright, now when I first saw the title of this comic “Chew,” I was thinking to myself about what was so interesting about a c...more 6 stars! Introduction: Alright, now when I first saw the title of this comic “Chew,” I was thinking to myself about what was so interesting about a comic book that was all about food? Well, I WAS WRONG! “Chew: Taster’s Choice” which was written by John Layman along with artwork by Rob Guillory and received an Eisner Award for Best New Series and a Harvey Award Winner, was one comic that really knew how to create a plot that not only involves food but also involves a really intriguing crime drama that will shock readers at the very end! What is this story about? Meet Tony Chu who is a detective, but also has a bizarre secret. You see, Tony Chu is known as a Cibopathic, meaning that he can get psychic impressions from whatever he eats, even going as far as tasting dead bodies to find out who murdered the victim and why they murdered that victim. Because of this special ability, Tony Chu gets accepted to the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, which is known as the most powerful law enforcement division in the world and has a new partner named Mason Savoy, who also is a Cibopathic! Now join the adventures of Tony Chu and Mason Savoy as they uncover various crimes that happens in America while using their special talents to solve the cases! What I loved about this story: John Layman’s writing: Wow! Just wow…I had mentioned that when I first saw the title of this book, I actually thought that it was going to be all about food. Well, while John Layman does provide food as a major theme of this comic, the plot of the story is basically a crime drama that involves the murders of many people who are involved in the food market. I loved the way that John Layman created a mysterious and dark atmosphere for this comic as I am a huge fan of crime stories and I loved the fact that Tony Chu uses his special gift as a way to solve crimes. Having Tony use his special gift to solve murders really created an interesting and creative atmosphere for this story as I never would have thought that a person tasting dead bodies to find out more about the murder scenes would actually create intriguing stories about the characters trying to solve crimes. Now, I will admit that I am not a huge fan of gross out scenes and this comic definitely has many gross out scenes, but somehow, John Layman made this experience for me truly worth it! John Layman’s writing was so exciting and creative that I just could not put this book down no matter how disgusting it got and I was drawn into the surreal and dark world of “Chew” and the plot twists that this comic so easily provided. Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork may be a bit bizarre looking, but it fits perfectly with this type of story as the characters have odd shaped heads and have disproportioned bodies. I also loved the way that Rob Guillory drew the blood scenes in this book as the blood usually squirts out of the characters in weird ways, making the murder scenes look a bit cartoonish yet still have the effect that it wanted to go for (PURE SHOCK VALUE)!   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The biggest issue I did have with this comic was that there were many disgusting scenes including scenes of characters vomiting all over the pages and characters biting dead bodies to get a clue on the murders. Most of the time, I do not like disgusting scenes in any story, even though this comic made the gross out scenes seem a bit irrelevant to the story. Also, since this comic focuses on murder scenes, there are many bloody scenes of characters getting chopped up and that might be a bit upsetting for anyone who does not like reading about bloody scenes. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Chew: Taster’s Choice Volume One” definitely exceeded my expectations as I would have never thought that I would read a comic that actually intertwines food and crime into one story and actually create an interesting story that caught my attention from the very beginning! I will definitely be checking out the next volume of this book and see where the characters are going after this first volume! BON APPETITE…IF YOU DARE! Review is also on:Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Feb 15, 2013
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Feb 15, 2013
| Paperback
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| 1401215815
| 9781401215811
| 4.00
| 9,776
| Mar 30, 2008
| Nov 04, 2008
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 Introduction: After reading the classic “Batman” tale, Batman: The Killing Joke I wanted to read more stories about one of Batman’s most infamous vi...more Introduction: After reading the classic “Batman” tale, Batman: The Killing Joke I wanted to read more stories about one of Batman’s most infamous villains, the Joker! So, I went ahead and picked up Brian Azzarello’s take on the Joker “Joker” and while it has many slow scenes, it was a truly interesting take on the psychotic mind of the Joker in a more dark and gritty way that I would have never imagined possible! What is this story about? This story is being told from the viewpoint of one of the Joker’s newest henchmen, Jonny Frost and in this story; the Joker was just released from Arkham Asylum and he is NOT HAPPY! The Joker just realized that while he was gone, his fellow villains, the Penguin, Killer Croc, The Riddler and Two-Face had sold off his properties and the Joker is planning on getting them back! Be prepared for one violent and nightmare ride as we see how scary the Joker can be when he is really angry! What I loved about this story: Brian Azzarello’s writing: Since this is the first time I had read any of Brian Azzarello’s works, I was actually impressed with how dark and gritty this story is and the fact that it fits so perfectly with the Joker’s insane nature. I loved the fact that this story has a bit of crime noir in it as I am a huge fan of crime stories and it was interesting seeing the story being played out from a villain’s point of view. What was so intriguing about this story was the fact that Brian Azzarello really showed the dark side of the Joker as the Joker spends most of this story committing horrible crimes and torturing his fellow criminals and yet, gets away with everything until the very end of the story. I enjoyed the dark and gritty take on the Joker and he seems to remind me heavily of Heath Ledger’s version of the Joker in “The Dark Knight” movie as both characters were dark and were trying to prove a point to other people. It was also interesting that we actually get a good look at the Joker from the perspective of his henchman since it added more dimension on how the Joker’s own henchman feels about the Joker himself. Lee Bermejo’s artwork: Lee Bermejo’s artwork may seem a bit scratchy in some panels, but in doing the close up images of the Joker looking so crazed and dramatic, it was truly beautiful! I loved the way that Lee Bermejo painted the images of the Joker’s face close up as it truly looks disturbing since it seems like the Joker had cut his mouth open to make it look like an actual smile and that was truly disturbing to see!   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The reason why I gave this comic a four star rating is that there were many slow scenes in this comic as most of the scenes basically dealt with the Joker just discussing with the other rogues gallery about how he wants to split the profits with them. Also, there is some language and gory violence in this book, where the violence includes people getting shot and blood spurting out of the wounds and there is one REALLY DISTURBING scene that I cannot really say, but let us just say that it involves some SKIN RIPPING! Final Thoughts: Now, even though I liked reading “Joker,” I still preferred “Batman: The Killing Joke” over this story since I felt that “The Killing Joke” was one of the best “Joker” stories I had ever read. “The Killing Joke” was trying to define the different ideologies between both Batman and the Joker while “Joker” was just showing the more violent and dark side of the Joker. However, I did enjoy both books for different reasons and if you want to read a “Joker” story that shows the Joker’s violent side, then “Joker” is a great book to read! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Feb 15, 2013
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Feb 15, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0785143173
| 9780785143178
| 4.01
| 815
| 2010
| Mar 10, 2010
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Brief Introduction:
I have heard of the Fantastic Four for many years and I had seen most of the movies and the TV shows that was based on them. Howev...more Brief Introduction: I have heard of the Fantastic Four for many years and I had seen most of the movies and the TV shows that was based on them. However, I never picked up a comic of the “Fantastic Four” until recently, since I am a huge “X-Men” fan and I have been constantly reading their comics for years now. After hearing so many good things about Jonathan Hickman’s run on “Fantastic Four,” I just had to give this series a shot and see if it was worth checking out. Well, I was really amazed by how well this volume came out to be and now I am more interested in seeing more of Jonathan Hickman’s run on “Fantastic Four!” What is the story? The story starts off with Reed Richards going to an alternative universe where he meets several different versions of himself so that he can figure out the answer to his question “Solve everything.” However, when Reed discovers that he must give up something that is so precious to him to be able to solve everything; will he go through with joining the other Reeds to obtain what he truly wanted? Also, in this volume, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm travel to the Nu-World for a hard earned vacation, but realize that terrible things are happening in the Nu-World. Also, Franklin Richards gets a special guest for his birthday party! What I loved about this comic: Jonathan Hickman’s writing: Since this is the first comic book I had ever read from Jonathan Hickman (and the first “Fantastic Four” comic I had read), I was actually impressed with how well he has written the Fantastic Four characters. The big thing that I look for in the “Fantastic Four” franchise is the fact that they are known as the first superhero family and I loved the way that Jonathan Hickman brought this to the forefront of this volume as Reed Richards has to struggle with supporting his family and obtaining the desire to solve everything in the world. It really brought so much depth to this storyline and I loved the way that Jonathan Hickman really explored inside Reed Richards’ mind and why he feels the need to solve everything in the world. I loved the way that Jonathan Hickman introduced some humorous moments into this volume, especially with the banter between Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm (The Thing) as they treat each other like brothers, arguing yet getting along at the same time. I really liked the story about Franklin Richards, Reed and Sue’s son, having a birthday party since it made the characters so relatable and it was really cute seeing the members of the Power Pack come back together for Franklin’s birthday party! Dale Eaglesham and Neil Edwards’artwork: I just loved Dale Eaglesham’s artwork for the first three issues of this volume (issues 570-572) as the artwork made the Fantastic Four look realistic and I loved the way that the colorings made the characters glow. Neil Edwards artwork for issues 573-574 were pretty decent, although I had an issue with the way that the characters’ mouths just open wide on every page and the characters looked much older for some reason. What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: The reason why I gave this volume a four star rating was because I felt that there were too many plot points going on in this volume and I got really confused by what was happening in some of the story arcs. It is probably because this is my first read of the “Fantastic Four” and I am not used to the crazy adventures they have, so I was kind of left in the dust when reading about Reed’s adventures in the other dimension. Also, even though this volume was supposedly meant to build up the big adventure that is in store for the Fantastic Four, there were many slow scenes in this volume and I wish that there was a bit more action in this volume to keep my interest going. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Fantastic Four Volume One” is a pretty good read for anyone who is a huge fan of the “Fantastic Four” comics and it definitely has me geared up for the next adventures of the “Fantastic Four!” Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Feb 10, 2013
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Feb 09, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0785147160
| 9780785147169
| 3.72
| 343
| Jul 14, 2010
| Jul 14, 2010
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Brief Introduction:
After reading the first volume of Jonathan Hickman’s run of “Fantastic Four,” I wanted to check out the rest of this series and se...more Brief Introduction: After reading the first volume of Jonathan Hickman’s run of “Fantastic Four,” I wanted to check out the rest of this series and see more adventures from the “Fantastic Four!” Unfortunately, “Fantastic Four: Volume Two” was just an average read for me because while it had some interesting scenes with the Fantastic Four, it lacked the action that was shown in the first volume and the plotlines in this volume had many slow scenes that made it difficult for me to read through. What is the story? After the events of the first volume, the Fantastic Four start having adventures in visiting four different lands which includes meeting up with one of their enemies, the Mole Man and discovering a terrible secret that involves his people, going down to the kingdom of Atlantis and finding a new emissary for the voice of man, going to the moon and meeting with the Inhumans and going through the Negative Zone! What I loved about this comic: Jonathan Hickman’s writing: I actually enjoyed the set up that Jonathan Hickman was providing for the Fantastic Four’s next adventure which might include the War of the Four Cities and I was extremely interested in seeing how all the events that happened in this book will play out in the future stories. I also loved the way that Jonathan Hickman portrayed each character in this volume with Johnny Storm being the hilarious and feisty little brother to Sue Storm, Sue Storm being the intelligent and supportive role model for the team, Reed Richards being the team’s scientific mind and Ben Grimm being the wisecracking powerhouse of the team. Probably the story that I liked the best in this volume was Johnny Storm’s encounter with the Negative Zone as it really showed the positive aspects of his character and some character development on his part and also, Johnny Storm is always a favorite character of mine! Dale Eaglesham’s artwork: Dale Eaglesham’s artwork in this series was always a pleasure for me since the characters look so realistic and I also loved the way that the characters sort of glowed on the pages which made the artwork so gorgeous to look at. I loved the way that the characters have well-defined bodies, especially Johnny Storm and Reed Richards’ bodies being muscular around the arms. I also loved the way that Dale Eaglesham did the artwork for the action scenes as you can see flames being shown whenever a city is destroyed. What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: The reason why I gave this volume a three star rating is because while this volume was trying to set up the events for the War of Four Cities, the pacing for the stories in this volume were a bit too slow and the constant scientific dialogues spoken between the characters sort of bored me to death. Also, since I am still new to the “Fantastic Four” comics, I still find most of these plots to be a bit confusing and I was still lost whenever the characters were mentioning about an upcoming threat that deals with several different cities since I am not well-versed in the world of the Fantastic Four. Also, the stories in this volume seem to be all over the place and it was hard to keep up with the main story of this volume or what it would eventually lead to. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Fantastic Four: Volume Two” was just an average read for me since the plot was moving a bit too slow, despite some good moments with the characters like Johnny Storm and the Thing. Even though this was not my favorite volume, I am hoping that the “Fantastic Four” series will pick up the pace in the later volumes. (less) | Notes are private!
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| Feb 10, 2013
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Feb 09, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 1587249219
| 9781587249211
| 4.09
| 671
| Oct 26, 2004
| Jun 01, 2005
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After reading the first two books in Jodi Thomas’ fantastic “Wife Lottery” series, The Texan's Wager and When a Texan Gambles, I was definitely lookin...more
After reading the first two books in Jodi Thomas’ fantastic “Wife Lottery” series, The Texan's Wager and When a Texan Gambles, I was definitely looking forward to reading the third book in this series called “A Texan’s Luck” and man, was I in for an enjoyable ride! The story starts off when Captain Walker Larson discovers a shocking revelation when a young and beautiful woman named Lacy Larson walks into his office and tells him that she is his wife. Unfortunately, Walker has no intentions of having a wife and he sends Lacy away back to Cedar Point. Three years later however, when Lacy thought that she got over her disappointment in meeting Walker Larson, Walker ends up back in her life again when he received word that Zeb Whitaker might be after her and he was stationed to protect her at all costs. Unfortunately, Lacy, still upset over Walker shunning her years ago, wants nothing to do with Walker and wants him to leave in the next few days. However, both Walker and Lacy will soon discover that they might have some feelings for each other despite their differences. Wow! I never thought that Jodi Thomas’ “Wife Lottery” series could possibly get even better over time! Jodi Thomas’s writing in this book was so beautiful and emotional that I found myself really sympathizing with all of the characters’ ordeals. I loved the way that Jodi Thomas portrayed the relationships between the characters, especially between Lacy and Walker themselves, who are my favorite characters in the entire book! Lacy Larson was such an independent and kind hearted heroine who refuses to let anyone run her life. I actually sympathized with Lacy at the beginning of the novel since she was scorned by Walker Larson and it was pretty understandable about why she hated Walker throughout most of the book since I probably would have held a little grudge myself if I was scorned like that. I also loved the way that Lacy helped Walker understand more about how love works and the fact that she too was new at the whole “husband and wife” situation really brought out so much chemistry between her and Walker. Probably the best character in this book was Walker Larson himself as he is unlike any other romantic hero I had ever read about before! Walker Larson is shown to be a gruff, secretive and yet tortured character as he felt sorry for what he done to Lacy years ago and tries to make amends for it. It was interesting seeing that Walker had trouble trying to sort out his feelings for Lacy due to him being in the army all the time and I loved the way that he tries hard to please Lacy and protect her at all times, despite his somewhat “cold” attitude. Even though there were not enough sexual scenes to satisfy my romantic urges, the scenes where Walker and Lacy try to get to know each other by taking each other out to dinners and spending some quality “quiet” time together were probably the best scenes in this book and I really loved their witty banters with each other, especially this little gem: “This day was endless not seeing you. I want to get you alone. I don’t feel like sharing you with the world right now.” “I know.” “I thought of being here with you like this all day.” “I know.” “I ached to hold you. Half the time I didn’t even bother to listen to what others were saying.” “I know.” For anyone who does not like reading about sex scenes, this book has some sex scenes, however, it is not quite as explicit as the other sex scenes I have read in other romance novels. Also, there is some brief language in this novel, however the language only showed up once or twice in this novel and it is not quite strong enough to be offensive. Overall, “A Texan’s Luck” is easily one of the most memorable books out of Jodi Thomas’ “Wife Lottery” series and anyone who is a huge fan of western romances should definitely give this novel a whirl! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog I would like to thank my Goodreads friend Lady Danielle for recommending me this series!!!(less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 31, 2013
| Feb 25, 2013
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Jan 31, 2013
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1607066017
| 9781607066019
| 4.34
| 6,537
| Mar 14, 2012
| Oct 23, 2012
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 6 stars!!! Introduction: After reading so many of Brian K. Vaughan’s works, with “Y: The Last Man” and his “Runaways” series being among the works I...more 6 stars!!! Introduction: After reading so many of Brian K. Vaughan’s works, with “Y: The Last Man” and his “Runaways” series being among the works I had read, I have been enjoying everything that Brian K. Vaughan has done over the years! But, imagine my surprise when I discovered that Brian K. Vaughan had recently created a new comic book series called “Saga!” After hearing so many good things about this comic, I just had to pick this up for myself and see what was so good about this comic and man, was I blown away by the whole concept of this story! What is this story about? Alana, a young woman who has fairy wings and is from the planet Landfall, and her husband, Marko, a young man who has goat horns and is from a moon planet called Wreath, were both soldiers that served in the army. However, when Alana and Marko ended up falling in love with each other despite the fact that their planets are at war with each other, they ended up having a baby together and they tried to escape from the war in order to raise their newborn baby. However, the two lovers will soon discover that they are being hunted because they abandoned their stations and they must reach a planet where they could live in peace before it is too late! What I loved about this story: Brian K. Vaughan’s writing: I am always amazed at how Brian K. Vaughan writes the stories in his comics as the characters are always well-developed and the stories are always creative to read through. Well, Brian K. Vaughan has definitely done a brilliant job in this story as the characters are interesting and the story is extremely inventive! I loved the way that Brian K. Vaughan made the story extremely creative by setting the story in a different dimension where aliens rule the planets and futuristic technology runs society. This story also reminds me strongly of Joss Whedon’s popular TV series, “Firefly” as both stories involves characters living in a futuristic world and I really enjoyed seeing the strange characters that pop up in this comic, especially the images of Alana having green fairy wings and Marko having large goat horns in his head. I also loved the way that Brian K. Vaughan developed the characters as Alana is shown to be a strong heroine who is willing to do everything to protect her child and Marko is shown to be a caring and strong-willed hero who also tries to protect his family from any harm that comes across them. That kind of character development made these characters likable and relatable to me because I always felt for them whenever they are trying to escape a war so that they could raise their baby together in peace. I also loved the futuristic setting of this story as it made the story truly amazing to read through and I enjoyed seeing how the characters deal with war in a futuristic setting. Fiona Staples’ artwork: Fiona Staples’ artwork is a bit scratchy, but it is extremely beautiful to look at as the characters look realistic and I loved the way that Fiona Staples paints the fire and explosion scenes as the fire lighting glows on each page, giving the artwork a dramatic feel. I also loved the appearances of the aliens that inhabit this world, especially the image of Prince Robot IV who has a human body with a television set for a head (kind of reminds me of the robot character in “Fooly Cooly” who also has a human body with a television set for a head)!   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Since this story deals with war, there are many violent scenes shown throughout this story. Some of the most violent scenes in this comic had characters getting their heads cut off and their stomachs cut open and that might be too graphic for readers who are not used to gory violence. Also, this comic has strong language that includes using the “f” word and the “s” word, so if you are uncomfortable with such language, then it might be best to skim over these words. This comic surprisingly has strong nudity and it might be best to skim over these scenes if they are uncomfortable to read through. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Saga” is seriously one of the best recent comics I had read for the past few years since “American Vampire” and I only have a few things to say about this series: GIVE ME MORE, GIVE ME MORE, GIVE ME MORE! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 24, 2013
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Jan 23, 2013
| Paperback
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| 0399226710
| 9780399226717
| 4.44
| 4,052
| Sep 15, 1994
| Sep 15, 1994
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 Many of the books I had read by Patricia Polacco were extremely emotional and sad like The Junkyard Wonders and Thank You, Mr. Falker, but none of the...more Many of the books I had read by Patricia Polacco were extremely emotional and sad like The Junkyard Wonders and Thank You, Mr. Falker, but none of them had hit me so close to my heart than her book “Pink and Say.” “Pink and Say” is a story about the friendship between two boys of different races whose ending will make you want to cry for many years to come. Sheldon Russell Curtis was a young soldier who was injured during the Civil War and was left for dead until a young African-American boy named Pinkus comes to his aid and brings him home with him. Pinkus lived with his mother, Moe Moe Bay who was kind and treated Sheldon like her own son. Unfortunately, Sheldon and Pinkus knew that they were putting Moe Moe Bay in jeopardy since they escaped from the Civil War and the marauding Confederate troops were chasing after them. Now they must find a way to get away from Moe Moe Bay before it is too late! Reading most of Patricia Polacco’s books, I have noticed that all of her books always have an underlying theme of accepting other people, no matter how different they are while tying these stories to her real life experiences, which I always believed made her stories even more memorable to read. Now, after reading this book “Pink and Say,” I have to say that Patricia Polacco has truly defined the importance of accepting other people’s differences even under hardships such as war. I loved the way that Patricia Polacco had portrayed the relationship between Pinkus, a young African-American soldier and Sheldon, a young Caucasian soldier, as they treated each other like good friends, despite being of different races. It was fantastic and emotional seeing what the Civil War had done to Pinkus and Sheldon and my heart was actually breaking when they were scared of getting anyone hurt in this war, but they know that they have to fight this war to put an end to slavery. I have always read books about the Civil War, but never had I read a book that actually showed me how the Civil War had affected the people fighting in it in a more up close and personal way. Patricia Polacco had done a brilliant job at showing the horrors and painful emotions that the characters suffered through this war, while stating that war itself is terrible, but you must fight for what you believe is right. Patricia Polacco’s illustrations are as usual, gorgeous to look at as the images of Sheldon and Pinkus communicating with each other was a truly beautiful scene to look at. I also loved the way that the characters look as realistic as it really brings so much reality to this story. Parents should know that this picture book has some images of characters getting shot and blood leaking out of their wounds. This might disturb younger children who want to read about the Civil War, so parents might want to read this book to see if it is appropriate before reading it to their child. Also, the ending was extremely sad as it involves the death of one of the characters (which I will not reveal because I do not want to spoil this book for anyone) and parents might want to read over these scenes before they read it to their children. Overall, “Pink and Say” is easily Patricia Polacco’s saddest yet most emotional book to ever be written and anyone who wants to read about the Civil War through a personal account should definitely check this book out! I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since the scenes of characters getting shot might disturb younger children. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 24, 2013
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Jan 23, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0439023513
| 9780439023511
| 4.03
| 839,124
| Aug 24, 2010
| Aug 24, 2010
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“My Name is Katniss Everdeen. Why Am I Not Dead? I Should be Dead.”
After reading Suzanne Collins’ previous books The Hunger Games and Catching Fire I...more “My Name is Katniss Everdeen. Why Am I Not Dead? I Should be Dead.” After reading Suzanne Collins’ previous books The Hunger Games and Catching Fire I wanted to check out the final book in the “Hunger Games” series called “Mocking jay” and man, was it just as intense and horrifying as the previous two books! After Katniss Everdeen survived the last Hunger Games in “Catching Fire,” she discovers that the Capitol had destroyed her home District 12 as a way to teach Katniss that she cannot defy the Capitol. Katniss and her family then escape to the legendary hidden district, District 13 to seek refuge, only to find out that District 13 is planning a revolt against the Capitol! Now Katniss realizes that she was apart of a major plan to overthrow the Capitol, even though she never knew about it in the first place and now the future of Panem rests on her shoulders as she has to decide on whether or not she should become the Mocking jay that will defy the Capitol! Wow! I was absolutely blown away by how this final installment in the “Hunger Games” was much DARKER, MORE GRUESOME and MORE EMOTIONAL than the previous books! Suzanne Collins has definitely done a great job at building up tension throughout this book as I was seriously on the edge of my seat trying to see if Katniss would be able to fulfill her destiny as the Mocking jay! I loved the way that Suzanne Collins gives us a good insight inside Katniss’ mind about how she has doubts about being the Mocking jay and how it will affect her relationship with her family and friends. I also loved seeing the developing relationships she has with both Gale and Peeta and it was interesting seeing how she was willing to put her life on the line to protect her friends and families from the Capitol’s evil influence. I also loved the way that Suzanne Collins wrote Katniss as a strong heroine who is not only good at fighting, but is extremely intelligent as she tries to think through her problems before acting on them and I think that is a good characteristic that helps Katniss survive through the revolution against the Capitol. I also loved Peeta’s character and I was actually worried for Peeta throughout this book after the Capitol kidnapped him in the last book and did horrible things to his mind. The reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because of the constant love triangle between Gale, Katniss and Peeta. I usually do not do well with love triangles because of the fact that the character in the middle has to spend the majority of the book deciding whether or not he or she wants to spend the rest of their life with whoever they choose. I felt that this aspect of the story sort of took away from the constant action and suspense of the last two books and sometimes, it was hard getting through this book without gritting my teeth in impatience with Katniss choosing who she wants to be with. Another problem that some readers might have with this book is that it has more bloody and sad scenes than the last two books as there are many characters that are killed off in the most gruesome ways in this book. Since this final book deals with war and its consequences, it might be a bit difficult to get through this book without being sadden by the turn of events in this book. Anyone who is planning on reading this book better be prepared for a DARK RIDE ahead of them! Overall, even though “Mocking jay” was not the best of the “Hunger Games” series, it is still a great read for “Hunger Games” fans and the ending will definitely blow you away once you pick up this book! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 13, 2013
| Jan 27, 2013
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Jan 13, 2013
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| 1563894696
| 9781563894695
| 4.25
| 24,561
| Nov 01, 1997
| Nov 01, 1999
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The Origins of Harvey Dent has begun!
 Introduction: Now, I have been reading many Batman comics whose stories dealt with Batman defeating one of his...more The Origins of Harvey Dent has begun! Introduction: Now, I have been reading many Batman comics whose stories dealt with Batman defeating one of his greatest foes, the Joker. But, I had always wanted to read some “Batman” stories that dealt with another one of Batman’s greatest foes, Two-Face! I got interested in Two-Face’s story when I saw one of the episodes on “Batman: The Animated Series” that dealt with the origin tale of Two-Face and I was amazed at how well that episode portrayed the relationship between Batman and Two-Face. So, this caused me to pick up a Batman comic book that deals with Two-Face and lo and behold, I found “Batman: The Long Halloween!” What is this story about? Carmine “The Roman” Falcone was Gotham City’s untouchable Crime Lord and District Attorney, Harvey Dent, Batman and Captain James Gordon were all trying to take down this crime lord for months now. However, the actual story starts when “The Roman” was throwing a wedding party for his nephew Johnny Viti, but later on, it turns out that somebody had murdered Johnny Viti and later on, a gang called “The Irish.” This then leads to many murders that are directly involved with “The Roman’s” family and the serial killer became known as “Holiday” since the killer only kills people on various holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Can Batman, James Gordon and Harvey Dent catch this serial killer before it is too late? What I loved about this story: Jeph Loeb’s writing: Now, I had seen many different versions of Harvey Dent’s origins including the animated series’ version and Nolan’s famous “Batman” film, “The Dark Knight,” but I really enjoyed Jeph Loeb’s version of Harvey Dent and how he made his character mysterious. Jeph Loeb had done an excellent job at writing this story as the serial killer starts killing certain members of “The Roman’s” family on holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve and I loved how all thirteen chapters in this book is titled a different holiday like Chapter Two is titled “Thanksgiving” and Chapter Three is titled “Christmas.” I also loved the way that Jeph Loeb made this story similar to a crime noir as the mystery of the story involves Batman, Harvey Dent and James Gordon trying to figure out who the “Holiday” serial killer is and how they will stop him from killing anymore victims and I loved seeing the scenes of the “Holiday” serial killer murdering people as there are no words accompanying the evil deeds and the artwork pretty much does the talking for those scenes. I really enjoyed the turbulent relationship between Catwoman and Batman as we are left in the dark about Catwoman’s true motives for helping out Batman even though she is a world class burglar and it was interesting trying to figure out what her true motives are. The way that Jeph Loeb portrayed Harvey Dent’s mysterious and intense character was extremely well done as Harvey Dent also wants to protect Gotham City from crime, but he seems to want to do things the hard way to get the job done. What was so amazing about this story was the fact that Jeph Loeb introduced many of Batman’s greatest enemies (the Joker, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, The Scarecrow, and the Mad Hatter) into this one story and they all play a huge role in Batman trying to discover “Holiday’s” secret identity. Tim Sale’s artwork: Tim Sale’s artwork in this graphic novel was just astonishing as the artwork is dark and gritty and it really fits well with the dark tone of this story! I loved the way that Tim Sale drew Batman himself as Batman looks large and intimidating in every image and I loved the way that Tim Sale drew Batman’s cape as twirling around Batman, giving a frightening feel to Batman’s presence. I also loved the way that Tim Sale drew the shadowing around the characters’ bodies during the night scenes (although the majority of this comic takes place at night) which really made the images extremely creepy to look at. What I really loved about Tim Sale’s artwork is when the scenes of “Holiday” murdering various victims are in black and white colorings which really made these scenes truly stand out from the other scenes. What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Since this story deals with the murders of several characters, there are many scenes where characters are killed off in gruesome ways, which they are mainly shot in the head. These scenes are also graphic as there is blood everywhere where the characters are shot. Anyone who is uncomfortable with violence in graphic novels might want to steer away from this graphic novel. Also, there is some brief language in this graphic novel, although the language is not as strong as you would sometimes see in mature stories Final Thoughts: Overall, “Batman: The Long Halloween” is one of the best “Batman” stories about Two-Face ever told and anyone who is a fan of the “Batman” comics should definitely check this graphic novel out! Also, if you want to read some other great “Batman” comics, here are some recommendations: Batman: Year One Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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Jan 12, 2013
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| 0785158545
| 9780785158547
| 3.88
| 60
| May 1993
| Dec 07, 2011
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 Introduction: After reading “X-Men” and “Batman” comics for so long now, I wanted to try something new, so I decided to jump into the “Spider-Man” co...more Introduction: After reading “X-Men” and “Batman” comics for so long now, I wanted to try something new, so I decided to jump into the “Spider-Man” comics and behold, “The Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin” was my first introduction into the “Spider-Man” comics and now I am actually geared up to read more from the famous web-slinging superhero! What is this story about? Basically, this comic takes place after the events of “The Death of Gwen Stacy” and after Spider-Man had defeated the Green Goblin, Peter Parker decides to finish up his studies at college. Unfortunately, it turns out that a mysterious man has somehow found the lost journals of Norman Osborn and discovers that Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin! Using Norman Osborn’s notes on how to improve the weapons he used as Green Goblin, the mysterious man then created weapons similar to the Green Goblin’s and becomes known as the Hobgoblin! Can Spider-Man defeat this new foe and find out who this foe really is? What I loved about this story: Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo and Tom DeFalco’s writing: I have to admit that when I first went into this graphic novel, I thought that I would never understand what was going on in this series since this was the first time I had ever read a “Spider-Man” comic. However, not only was the writing by Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo and Tom DeFalco extremely interesting to read through, but the story was easy enough to get into since all the writers took great care in explaining to the readers about what happened in previous events and how they all tie into the current storylines. What I loved about Roger Stern’s interpretation of Spider-Man/Peter Parker is how Peter Parker is portrayed as being good-natured and intelligent and I really enjoyed the scenes where Peter Parker is shown working on a new type of technology, such as his Spider Tracer which works like a tracking device, that could help him defeat his enemies much easier. I also loved the way that Spider-Man is portrayed as being a wisecracking superhero while at the same time is extremely aware of the situations going on around him, which makes him a well-rounded character. The mystery surrounding the identity of the Hobgoblin was done extremely well as readers will be sitting on the edge of their seats trying to figure out who the Hobgoblin really is and how he knew about Norman Osborn’s notes on being the Green Goblin. I also loved the way that the Hobgoblin was not being written as just being a copy of the Green Goblin, but proved to be an extremely difficult opponent for Spider-Man for he was extremely intelligent and used Norman Osborn’s notes to his advantage. Mike Zeck, Marie Severin, John Romita Jr., Al Milgron and Ron Frenz’s artwork: With many different artists in this graphic novel, the artwork was extremely brilliant to look at! I loved the way that Mike Zeck’s artwork had a retro 70’s style look as the characters look extremely realistic and the outlining for the characters are nice and bolded, which really made the characters truly stand out. Marie Severin’s artwork makes a brilliant transition from the late 70s to early 80s style artwork as the characters are drawn in much brighter colors and have more details on their facial expressions. John Romita Jr.’s artwork is somewhat similar to Marie Severin’s artwork as the characters’ appearances are vastly improved and I loved the images of Peter Parker having wavy brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes. What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Since this comic came out during the early 80s, I knew that I was going to be reading a ton of dialogue coming from the characters. This graphic novel actually took me two days to finish because the dialogues with each character, especially Spider-Man, were extremely lengthy. Even though I enjoyed reading the characters’ inner thoughts on a situation, I found it a bit difficult to get through this graphic novel in one day because it took so long to read through the dialogues. Also, another reason I gave this volume a four star rating was because the first two stories at the beginning which dealt with Roderick Kingsley felt a bit out of place for this volume since they barely dealt with Hobgoblin. Final Thoughts: Overall, even though this volume was extremely lengthy and some stories felt out of place, “The Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin” is a great introduction to the Hobgoblin and “Spider-Man” fans will definitely enjoy this volume! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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Jan 12, 2013
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| 0060530928
| 9780060530921
| 4.09
| 128,155
| Sep 30, 2008
| Sep 30, 2008
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  “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” That is pretty much the opening sentence to Neil Gaiman’s classic story, “The Graveyard Book,...more “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” That is pretty much the opening sentence to Neil Gaiman’s classic story, “The Graveyard Book,” so you definitely know what kind of book you are getting yourself into! After reading so many of Neil Gaiman’s fantastic books (“Coraline,” the “Sandman” series and “American Gods”), I just had to check out one of his most beloved young adult books, “The Graveyard Book” which also had the honor of winning the Newbery Medal Award! Filled with heartwarming scenes and your average creepy themes, “The Graveyard Book” is certain to be a hit with fans of Neil Gaiman’s works! The book starts off with the murder of an innocent family, which was caused by a man named Jack (they call him “the man Jack” throughout the book). When the man Jack thought that he killed the whole family, it turns out that the youngest child, who was a baby boy, managed to escape from Jack and ran to the graveyard. Since Jack could not find the child, he decided to give off the chase. When the citizens of the graveyard found out that the young boy’s family was killed, a ghost couple named Mr. and Mrs. Owens, decided to raise the boy themselves and they called him Nobody Owens. After that, the young boy Nobody Owens begin having many adventures in the graveyard including meeting the frightening Sleer and meeting a human girl named Scarlett, while also trying to figure out who murdered his family. Wow! I was totally blown away by the plot and the imagery in this book! As always, Neil Gaiman had crafted a brilliant story that not only revolves around the mystery of the murder of Nobody Owens’ real family, but also provided a heartwarming story about a young boy trying to discover who he really is and what he really wants out of life. I loved the way that Neil Gaiman made Nobody Owens into a sympathetic character who only wanted to see what life was like outside of the graveyard since he spent his whole life living in a graveyard and I often felt sorry for Nobody as his curiosity about the real world would not let him rest. It was also interesting in the way that Neil Gaiman mixed in the supernatural elements (such as Nobody Owens being able to fade so no one can see him and his ability to talk to the dead) into the story as it made the story extremely creative and creepy to read through! I really enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of the story as I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat trying to figure out if the man Jack will ever find Nobody Owens and how Nobody Owens would handle the man Jack if he ever comes across him! Dave McKean’s illustrations are simply gorgeous and creepy at the same time as the characters look a bit abstract, as their bodies are far too lean, but it fit the surreal atmosphere of the story! I also loved the way that Dave McKean shadowed the characters’ facial expressions as it made the characters look extremely dramatic and mysterious in every page they appear in. I also loved the creepy images of the graveyard as they really give off a mysterious and frightening feel to the story (the book is called “The Graveyard Book” after all!)   Even though this book is aimed at a young audience, there are some genuinely creepy moments in this book which includes what Nobody Owens did to two bullies at school and some readers might be a bit frightened at the creepy atmosphere of this book. Also, since there are many scenes of dead people talking to Nobody Owens, some readers would be frightened by the scenes of dead people walking around. Overall, “The Graveyard Book” is a truly fantastic book for fans of Neil Gaiman’s works and books with ghost, monsters and friendly strange children! Review is also shown on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 02, 2013
| Jan 12, 2013
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Jan 02, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0785131590
| 9780785131595
| 4.18
| 2,758
| Aug 12, 2009
| Nov 11, 2009
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4.5 stars
 Brief Introduction: Now, everyone knows that I am a huge fan of Wolverine, so when I heard about this unique little story called “Wolverine:...more 4.5 stars Brief Introduction: Now, everyone knows that I am a huge fan of Wolverine, so when I heard about this unique little story called “Wolverine: Old Man Logan,” I just had to try this comic out! Luckily, I was not disappointed with this story as “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” was one of the most intense and possibly terrifying stories I had ever read about Wolverine! With spectacular writing from Mark Millar and dramatic artwork by Steve McNiven, “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” is definitely one comic book you just have to check out! What is the story? In the future world, the United States is being ruled by the villains of the Marvel Universe (Dr. Doom, Norman Osborn and the Kingpin) and all of the superheroes were killed off, except for two heroes: Wolverine and Hawkeye! Wolverine is now living peacefully with his family as he swore off ever using his claws ever again since a horrible incident happened that dealt with him using his claws. One day however, the evil Hulk Gang wanted their payment in rent from Wolverine and if they do not get their rent money, they will kill Wolverine’s family. So, Wolverine goes on a cross country journey with his partner, a now blind Hawkeye, to get some money for Wolverine to pay the rent. Unfortunately, even though Wolverine is trying to live a peaceful life, he will soon realize that in a world ruled by villains, he will always be a target and he might have to compromise his stance on not fighting anymore once his life and family are being threatened! What I loved about this comic: Mark Millar’s writing: After reading Mark Millar’s fantastic run on “Ultimate X-Men,” I just knew that I had to give this book a try and when I did, oh my goodness, I was totally blown away by this story! Mark Millar had done a fantastic job at giving us a really dark and dystopian world where super-villains ruled the United States and Logan decides to give up being “Wolverine” after a tragic event happened in his past. I loved the way that Mark Millar developed Wolverine’s character and the fact that there would be a day where I would see Wolverine become a pacifist was really surprising to me. I also enjoyed the back story about why Wolverine became a pacifist and what happened to him in the past was a truly terrifying and emotional moment in this book that will make you really sympathize with Wolverine’s predicament. I also loved the idea about this being a “what if” story about what would happened if the super-villains ruled the world and all the super heroes were killed? It rose up so many interesting scenarios in this comic about what the super villains would do once they take over the world and how the world would look like. Apparently, the world is full of people being killed for no good reason and the endless changes to the United States such as California now being called “Hulkland.” I also loved the way that Mark Millar portrayed Hawkeye and Wolverine’s relationship with each other as Hawkeye is always cheerful and can still fight extremely well even when he is blind and I loved the fact that they still remain friends after all the hardships of living in a villain ruled world. Steve McNiven’s artwork: Steve McNiven’s artwork was just so fantastic in this comic! I loved the way that Steve McNiven made the characters looks extremely realistic. The characters’ facial expressions are done extremely well as there are shadows on the characters’ faces whenever they are having dark thoughts. I also enjoyed how detailed the bloody scenes were as blood squirts everywhere whenever the characters are cut up as it gives the scenes a much more frightening feeling.  What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: ~A huge warning for anyone reading this comic~ This comic has oodles and oodles of blood and gore throughout! I had never seen a “Wolverine” comic that had so many scenes of people being killed in the most brutal ways (being cut up) and anyone who does not like seeing any kind of strong violence in a comic might want to skip this comic. Also, there is some language in this comic, although not as strong as something you would see in Scott Snyder’s “American Vampire” or Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series, so for anyone who does not like reading language in a book, they might want to skim over these words. I took off half a star because I felt that the beginning was moving a bit too slow and it was not until the middle of the story where things really started to pick up. Also, the story might be a bit confusing for anyone who does not read “Avengers” or any other Marvel comics since it manages to combine most of the Marvel characters into one story (I know I got really confused when the Avengers were mentioned since I barely read the “Avengers” comics (big X-Men fan here). Final Thoughts: Overall, “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” was a really interesting read for me since I usually do enjoy the usual dystopian future storylines and this one was really creative and unique to read through. Wolverine fans will definitely enjoy this fantastic one shot story of everyone’s favorite claw wielding mutant! (view spoiler)[There were many scenes in this book that really shocked me, but the moment that really shocked me the most was the scene where Wolverine accidentally kills the X-Men when Mysterio tricked Wolverine into thinking that he was fighting the villains, not his friends.  (hide spoiler)]Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 30, 2012
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Dec 30, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 1401237185
| 9781401237189
| 4.11
| 671
| Nov 2011
| Oct 02, 2012
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 5.5 stars! Brief Introduction: Wow! I had never seen a comic book series get better and better over time since Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series and Joss...more 5.5 stars! Brief Introduction: Wow! I had never seen a comic book series get better and better over time since Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series and Joss Whedon’s run on “Astonishing X-Men!” Scott Snyder continues to amaze me with his stellar storytelling in the “American Vampire” series and the fourth volume is definitely one of the best volumes I had read so far in this series! With brilliant writing from Scott Snyder along with fantastic artwork from Rafael Albuquerque, Jordi Bernet, Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli, “American Vampire: Volume Four” is definitely one volume that will not disappoint you! What is the story? In this volume, there are a total of three stories that each details all the characters’ progression into the 1950s: The Beast in the Cave: This story is about how Skinner Sweet and Jim Book were once as close as brothers, but when the Indian Wars broke out and a new threat is unleashed, Jim and Skinner’s relationship with each other might never be the same again. Death Race: Meet Travis Kidd, a nineteen year old teenage boy who not only sports a Greaser look and lives in the 1950s, but he also happens to be one of the best vampire hunters ever around and he has a vengeance with one vampire in particular. The Nocturnes: Meet Calvin Poole, an African-American man who has a tough life in the 1950s as blacks were frowned upon in society and he is constantly harassed by the citizens because of the color of his skin. However, what the citizens do not know about Calvin is that he is apart of a secret organization that hunts vampires, while also harboring a dark secret about himself. What I loved about this comic: Scott Snyder’s writing: Man, Scott Snyder just continues to amaze me with his stellar writing! Scott Snyder has cleverly weaved a fictional tale with historical elements that affects the characters’ situations. I really enjoyed the fact that we are learning more about Skinner Sweet’s past as he was involved in the Indian Wars and his relationship with Jim Book, which we learned about in the previous volumes. Scott Snyder has done a fantastic job at providing a broad back story about Skinner Sweet and as I start learning more about Skinner Sweet’s back story, I start to understand more about where his vicious nature was coming from and how he affected history in many different ways. Probably my most favorite story in this entire volume was the one regarding Travis Kidd, as his story was the highlight of this volume (his picture is even on the front of the cover)! I loved the way that Scott Snyder developed Travis Kidd’s character as he is not shown as a stereotypical “greaser” boy, but hearing his tragic back story regarding his parents really made me feel so much sympathy for his character and I also loved the fact that Travis Kidd is able to take down any vampire he comes across! I also enjoyed the way that Scott Snyder told Calvin Poole’s story and I felt sympathy for him as he had to suffer through racism in the 1950s and I also loved his dark past storyline as it really made him stand out as a character. I still enjoy the way that Scott Snyder weaves fictional characters into historical elements like the Indian Wars and the racism and prejudice that dominated society around the 1950s and is still able to focus on the characters trying to fight off vampires without using real life historical figures in the story. Rafael Albuquerque, Jordi Bernet, Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork: The artwork in this volume was amazing as each artist contributed greatly to the stories in this volume. Jordi Bernet’s artwork in “The Beast in the Cave” was quite different then from what I usually see from the “American Vampire” series as the artwork is shown in much brighter colors and the characters look a bit generic. I loved the way that Jordi Bernet gave shadowing to the character’s faces which brought out a dramatic effect to them. Rafael Albuquerque once again brings true creativity to the “American Vampire” series by doing the artwork in “Death Race” and I loved the dark and gritty feel of the artwork as it greatly complements with the horror story. Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork in “The Nocturnes” were truly well done as Roger Cruz’s artwork makes the characters look truly realistic while Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork is a bit more simplistic, but still has enough dramatic effect to the story. What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: For anyone that does not like strong violence, this volume has many gory scenes of characters being bitten by vampires and blood squirting everywhere, so it might be hard to get through those scenes. Also, this volume has strong language which includes the “s” word and the “f” word, so readers who are offended by coarse language might want to skim over those words. Final Thoughts: Overall, “American Vampire: Volume Four” is just full of shocking surprises that really has me geared up for the fifth volume and now that this volume introduces new characters Travis Kidd and Calvin Poole, I cannot wait to see where their stories are going to go in the next volume! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 30, 2012
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Dec 30, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 1401233333
| 9781401233334
| 4.21
| 1,620
| Apr 2011
| Feb 07, 2012
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 Brief Introduction: I am definitely on the roll with Scott Snyder’s fantastic series, “American Vampire” and the third volume of this series does not...more Brief Introduction: I am definitely on the roll with Scott Snyder’s fantastic series, “American Vampire” and the third volume of this series does not disappoint me! “American Vampire: Volume Three” is probably the most intense out of the entire “American Vampire” series as Scott Snyder’s dramatic writing and Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj, and Sean Murphy’s artwork contribute greatly to this volume! What is the story? In this volume, there are two stories being told regarding Pearl and Felicia Book. In the first story, it is the 1940s when there is war between America and Imperial Japan and Pearl’s husband, Henry Preston, is called into battle to fight off a group of vampires that are sighted on an island near Japan. Unfortunately, Skinner Sweet happens to be in the same group as Henry and he is planning revenge on Henry and only Pearl can rescue her husband from Skinner Sweet! In the second story, Felicia Book, the daughter of Jim Book, who was killed by Skinner Sweet, goes on a mission with Cash McCogan to Nazi occupied Romania to find Dr. Erik Pavel, who claims that he has a cure for vampirism! What I loved about this comic: Scott Snyder’s writing: What can I say? Scott Snyder’s writing for this series continues to get better and better as the characters are thrown into new and troubling situations! For one thing, I loved the way that Scott Snyder actually made the story progress in the timeline as the setting goes from the 1920s to the 1940s and it really gives the story a more realistic feel to the characters. It is rare that I see many comic books actually progress the characters forward in time, so this was a welcoming change for me! I also loved the way that Scott Snyder tied in the historical aspects of World War II into this story without trying to twist the history of World War II. Usually, the problems I find with stories that has historical elements mixed in with fantasy elements is that sometimes it tries to state that the fictional characters were actually involved in any kind of historical event that happened in history. What I like about what was being done with combining the historical aspects of World War II with the fictional characters of “American Vampire” is that they never really mentioned any historical figures like Hitler and the stories were more centered on the characters and their fight against vampirism while using the historical elements to bring the reader into a whole new world on the idea of vampires existing in such times. I also loved the way that Scott Snyder developed the relationship between Pearl and her husband, Henry, as Henry seems to have second thoughts about their marriage since Pearl is a vampire and is much younger than he is and he wanted to feel wanted again. I also loved the way that Pearl and Henry still cared about each other, despite the fact that Pearl is a vampire. Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj, and Sean Murphy’s artwork: Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj and Sean Murphy all contributed greatly to the artwork of this volume as each artwork is scratchy yet dramatic for these stories! In the story “Strange Frontier,” where it talks about Skinner Sweet’s former lover, I loved the way that Danijel Zezelj made the artwork a bit brighter than what you would normally see in “American Vampire” and I also loved the way that the characters’ faces are shadowed in which makes them look really dramatic. The only problem I have with Danijel Zezelji’s artwork is that sometimes it is hard to distinguish the characters’ facial features since it seems like their facial expressions are lumped into one expression as there are barely definite linings on the characters’ faces that could really detail their emotions. Rafael Albuquerque’s artwork is as usual, brilliantly done as the artwork is scratchy and yet, it fits perfectly for this type of story. I loved the way that Rafael Albuquerque illustrates the characters’ facial expressions in a dramatic way as I really felt the emotions that the characters were feeling. Sean Murphy’s artwork in “Survival of the Fittest” was extremely well done as the characters’ faces are shadowed in such a dramatic way and I loved the snow covered landscape when Cash and Felicia came to Romania! What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: As with the previous volumes, there is some strong language and gory violence in this volume including people having their heads ripped off and that might be disturbing for anyone who is not a huge fan of gory violence. As for the strong language, there are many instances where the characters drop the “f” bomb and say the “s” word, so readers might want to skim over those words if they are uncomfortable with reading them. Final Thoughts: Overall, “American Vampire: Volume Three” is a fantastic volume where using historical context in a fantasy series is used extremely well and anyone who is a huge fan of Scott Snyder’s works will easily enjoy this volume of “American Vampire.” Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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